Sachakan Guild
by Cylinder
Summary: When Sonea finally accepts that Akkarin is her guardian, she finds herself feeling the need to protect him. She can't explain why and quite frankly, she doesn't want to know. With danger around every corner it's a wonder how love can spark...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Sonea slowly lifted her head up as a shadow loomed over her in the library. She almost jumped back in surprise, but stopped herself and looked back at her book. Akkarin frowned. He had seen the expression on Sonea's face when she looked at him and he knew it wasn't the reaction he wanted to see. She found him intimidating and threatening. He smiled to himself. He didn't want that. He didn't want it at all.

"Yes?" She asked innocently. Akkarin smiled mentally. She was trying very hard to cover up her fear.

"I would like you to accompany me to dinner. I believe you have a lot to tell me." He commanded softly. Sonea's eyes widened, but Akkarin ignored her. He didn't want his favourite novice living in fear of him and he was going to do something about it. Sonea stood up and bowed her head.

"Of course, High Lord." She mumbled quietly. Akkarin winced. He loved his title and wore it proudly, however whenever she said it, the hatred and fear behind her tone made him feel cold inside.

Sonea looked up at her guardian and felt her shoulders droop. She knew he'd obviously found out about Regin and the others cornering her in the passages and attacking her. But what she feared worse was whether he knew how close Regin had tried to get to her.

She ran alongside him, ignoring the whispers from the novices that hung in the University corridors and was almost relieved to see the High Lord's residence. Almost.

The door opened at Akkarin's touch and they walked inside, swerving left up the staircase. Akkarin opened the door to the dining room and bowed his head politely at Takan, who had been doing the finishing touches to their meal and Sonea did the same. When she looked up she stared in surprise at the table. Before, it had looked big enough to seat 17 people. Now, however, it was definitely suited for only two. It looked so small compared to the rest of the room. Akkarin smiled at Sonea's reaction.

"I saw no sense in sitting at such a big table if there only happened to be two people dining." Akkarin explained, the corners of his mouth curling upwards. Sonea looked up at him and blushed as she realised her expression must have given her away. Akkarin nodded towards the table and waited for Sonea to walk towards it, before following behind her. She sat down on the luxurious chair and her mouth watered as she eyed the beautifully prepared food in front of her. She looked up at Akkarin, who pulled out his chair and sat down, his cloak brushing across her leg, causing her to shiver. With fear, she hoped.

Akkarin smiled to himself as he watched Sonea from the corner of his eye. The fear was beginning to fade away now. It had been replaced with curiosity. He picked up his fork, indicating for her to start. She picked up her fork and glanced down at her plate. She didn't know where to start. Akkarin chuckled, startling her. He raised his eyebrows at her questioningly. She smiled at him.

"I've never had such a wide variety of food before." She explained her shoulders relaxing. Akkarin smiled back at her.

"I can't let my favourite novice go hungry."

Sonea looked up at Akkarin quickly, but he was busy cutting a piece of perfectly pink lamb. He had said she was his favourite novice. She shook her head. He must have meant, because he was her guardian and all..

Akkarin looked up and Sonea blushed as she realised she was still staring at him. He smiled and looked back down at his plate. They ate in silence for a while, and then Akkarin decided to spark up a conversation.

"So, Lorlen tells me you had some trouble with Novices yesterday." He began, looking up at Sonea and raising his eyebrows. Sonea paled and looked down. Akkarin was taking it as a joke. If only he knew how far Regin had nearly gone. She nodded glumly.

Akkarin realised the change in her mood and changed his tone.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Akkarin asked sympathetically, leaning forwards.

Sonea acknowledged his politeness, but she decided that she really didn't want to talk about it to any at this moment in time. Not even to Akka...The High Lord, she changed quickly.

Sonea looked up at him and shook her head, her eyes stupidly filling with tears.

"Not at the moment High Lord." She answered quietly, being careful that her voice did not break. Akkarin winced as he heard his title announced once again. But he filled with sadness at the new tone it was announced with. She sounded sad. He frowned in concern.

"Are you sure?" He asked, his deep voice lowered as he moved closer.

Sonea nodded silently, attempting to blink back the tears which were filling in her eyes. _Stop it,_ she told herself,_ you mustn't cry in front of him. _She looked at her food; blurred by her vision and realised her appetite had completely gone. She cursed Akkarin silently. If he wouldn't have said anything, she wouldn't have lost her appetite. She blinked and blinked, yet the tears decided to stay, and to her horror, they began to fall down her face. She got up from her chair.

"I'm..sorry.." She spluttered, walking quickly out of the room. She flew down the stairs, tears falling off her cheeks and she ran up the staircase opposite. She kept on running until she reached her door, which she yanked open, too upset to use magic, and shut it slowly behind her, her tears still cascading down her cheeks. She slowly slid down the door and put her head into her hands, sobbing quietly. The moon shone in from her window, but she didn't feel like gazing at its beauty. Instead she walked up to her curtains and pulled them shut quickly.

_I don't want another person to see me crying, _she thought, silently cursing the moon. She laughed to herself, and then wiped her tears away from her face furiously. She heard footsteps heading up the stairs and she froze. She stared at her door handle, waiting for it to turn, but it didn't. Instead, she heard a door shut in the hallway, Akkarin's she guessed.

She laughed out loud to herself. _Funny, _she thought._ I half hoped he would come in._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Akkarin lay on his bed with his hands behind his head, staring at a spot on the ceiling and sighed. Dinner hadn't gone as well as he had expected. He turned over and lay on his side. Sonea could handle a couple of novices surely, but after her sudden outburst at dinner, he guessed she may be weaker then he hoped. _Unless there's another reason, _he thought. He shook his head. No novice in the houses would sink that low.

Akkarin turned over again in frustration. It was 3am his senses told him and he hadn't been able to shut his eyes once. Knowing that Sonea was in the next room, possibly upset, was killing him. He flipped back over to his back. He had taken Sonea's guardianship because of the secret he expected her to keep, but the more he watched her and questioned her, the more intrigued he became and the more he was proud to be her guardian. He chuckled to himself quietly and sat up. A memory of him dropping some crushed flora leaves into Lorlen's drink when they were novices came into his vision. He laughed again as he remembered Lorlen falling asleep almost instantly and didn't move once as he drew a moustache and beard on him, not to mention some rude words on his forehead.

Akkarin shook his head in disbelief and got out of his bed. He needed something to help him sleep and he knew that if anything could help him sleep, it'll be flora leaves. He opened his door quietly and almost had the urge to tiptoe comically past Sonea's door. He chuckled. Just one memory of his childhood and he's already beginning to think like he used to.

He touched the door to the kitchen quietly and almost looked taken aback when he saw another figure sitting on the counter. He walked over to it and could hardly hide his surprise when he discovered it was Sonea. She looked up at him, really not in the mood to look embarrassed and smiled. Akkarin observed her closer, the dark having not adjusted to his eyes yet. Her eyes looked red, puffy and bloodshot. She'd been crying. Akkarin glanced down to her hand and saw a glass with green powder floating around it. She knew about flora leaves too. However, 5 other glasses stood by her side and he almost chuckled. It had taken one to knock out Lorlen, yet here Sonea was, drinking her sixth glass.

"Are you ok?" Akkarin asked, pouring himself some of the sleep powder. Sonea nodded, sniffing. She could just about catch his appearance and blushed, thankful that it was dark. His dark hair was ruffled and even though bags had developed under his eyes, he still looked very young. His pyjamas where tighter then they were supposed to be, ruffling up against his broad shoulders. If she knew any better, she'd say he almost looked attractive.

Akkarin had regarded Sonea with surprise. Although he liked her happy, when she was sad she was a lot more relaxed and at ease. He stared at her short black hair, which was ruffled at the back, meaning she obviously hadn't had much luck at sleeping. Her nightgown caressed her figure beautifully and the quality silk stroked her skin delicately, revealing only the smallest of her cleavage. Akkarin shook his head and looked up at Sonea. Checking out his favourite was not the way to go about things. Yet he felt her gaze on him. He looked up and she looked away. Then she lifted her head up and glared into the approximate direction of his eyes.

"Why can't you sleep?" She asked politely, but curiously. Akkarin chuckled.

"I was worrying about my favourite novice." He admitted. Sonea raised her eyebrows in disbelief and took another sip of her powder and said nothing. Akkarin saw her surprise, even if he could only just see her silhouette.

"It took one glass of that stuff to knock out Lorlen." He reminisced, moving next to her. She stiffened as he approached, then relaxed.

"I've always managed to stick out a good amount of drugs. Slum dwellers seem to enjoy drugging other drinks more then drugging themselves." She said, shrugging her shoulders. Akkarin chuckled. He should have conversations with her in the dark more often. She seemed to open up a lot more. He leant over her to put his finished glass on the counter and felt her shiver as his arm brushed hers. He heard her sharp intake of breath as she almost dropped her glass. Akkarin walked over to her other side and hauled himself up onto the counter. Sonea was surprised at how casual he was being all of a sudden.

"I used to use flora leaves a lot when I was a novice. It was a harmless drug, yet was very entertaining to put into peoples drinks. Especially Lorlen's." He explained, chuckling at the memories. Sonea turned to him in surprise. Akkarin had been a bad boy?_ Ha, _she thought to herself, _maybe he isn't so terrifying._

"A rebel, yet you still made it to High Lord. You amaze me." She mumbled under her breath, her eyes beginning to waver. Akkarin laughed and sighed.

"I guess I never needed to study, I had all the knowledge already." He said shrugging. Sonea nodded slowly and went to jump off the counter. Her throat had gone dry and water was what she needed, no more powder. However, as she jumped off, she was overcome with dizziness. Akkarin realised this and jumped of the counter to hold her steady. She flinched at his touch, but then slowly the dizziness disappeared and the warmth of Akkarin's hands felt strangely comforting. She looked up and realised how close he was to her, his breath tickling her scalp and the warmth of his body radiating off of him onto her. She moved away, aware that the whole scene seemed to be strangely erotic.

"Ok?" He asked, concerned. Sonea nodded, and then forgot he couldn't see her.

"I guess I had too much flora powder." She replied, chuckling. Akkarin hummed in reply and leant against the counter, drinking his. Sonea stood there for a moment, and then took a step forward. Her throat was still dry. She almost screamed in shock as the floor gave way underneath her when she took a step forward. Akkarin instantly moved forward and, forgetting he was carrying the glass, he dropped it. The smash echoed around the walls, but he was too concerned about Sonea. He bent down and stared at Sonea. She was holding herself up with her arms, and was looking down at the floor. Akkarin put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up.

"You aren't ok are you?" He said, smiling. Sonea shook her head and laughed, looking down again. Akkarin stood up and wrapped an arm around her waist. He hauled her upwards and Sonea felt a strange rush through her stomach. His arms were very strong. They'd always been covered with black robes so she was rather surprised when she felt them haul her upwards.

She swayed a bit, but slowly regained her balance. Akkarin hauled her back up onto the counter. He walked over to the other side of her and flicked his hand. The glass that had shattered gathered into the air, and slowly morphed as one, and changed shape. Sonea watched the dark silhouette change shape in amazement and grinned as it took the form of a dove. Akkarin smiled and placed it onto the counter.

"Neat trick." She mumbled. The corners of Akkarin's mouth roused into a smile.

"I had a lot of spare time on my hands as a novice. So I taught myself plenty of 'neat tricks.'" He replied. He yawned as he leant back against the counter. He noticed Sonea head had slumped onto her shoulder. He frowned and moved towards her. He realised the slow, soft sound of her breathing and smiled. She was asleep. He didn't want to wake her, so picked her up and cradled her into a baby carry and walked up the stairs to her bedroom. He laid her down on her bed and admired her. Her eyes had almost gone back to normal and she looked peaceful. Almost like an angel, he thought, looking at her short black hair spread out on the cushion and her white nightgown, spread along the bed.

He smiled and head back into his own room, where he collapsed onto his bed and shut his eyes. Before he knew it, he was breathing rhythmically, dreaming of angels that looked like Sonea.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

The next morning was hell for Sonea. She opened her eyes as her alarm went off and grimaced as they stuck together. Then she sat up in shock when she realised.

_How did I get to bed? _She thought, rubbing her eyes. She closed them for a second and smiled at the memory. She had gone downstairs to drink some flora powder that her Aunt Jonna used to give to her Uncle Ranel when he was in pain and had found herself pouring herself 6 glasses instead of her usual one. It was not a strong drug, but she was having a hard time sleeping, even with the flora powder. Not long after, Akkarin had come down to join her. She had acknowledged his presence with surprise, but was even more surprised when he admitted that he couldn't sleep because she was upset!

She shook her head in disbelief and guessed that she must have fallen asleep downstairs. And Akkarin had carried her to bed. She laughed to herself at Akkarin carrying her up the stairs and hauled her legs off of the bed, flinching as the cold floor seeped through the warm soles of her feet. Maybe Akkarin wasn't as bad as she thought, wriggling her toes. Maybe there was a reason for his black magic.

She shook her head again. No, he had still taken away Rothen's guardianship and held her hostage. But that was because she had learnt of his secret and he obviously didn't want it spreading. She pushed the idea out of her head and stood up. If Akkarin had a reason to learn black magic, it had better be a pretty good one.

She raked her hands through her hair and tiptoed across her floor, trying to touch as little of the floor as she could. She moved her eyes over to the mirror and then done a double take in horror.

Heavy bags had developed under her eyes and her hair stood out on all ends. Her eyes where red and swollen from crying the night before and her lips sat, plumped, chapped and dry on her face. She laughed as memories flew back to her. She looked just as she used to when she was in the slums. She smiled at her reflection and sat on the stool in front of the vanity table. She picked up her hairbrush and pulled it through her tangled hair, then began working on her face.

* * *

Akkarin yawned and stretched. Considering the night before, he actually felt pretty fresh and upbeat. He hopped out of bed and suddenly regretted having done so. He gripped his beside table and waited for his vision to clear, and smiled as it returned._ Mustn't get up quickly after a night with flora powder, _he reminded himself. The corners of his mouth turned upwards as he remembered the night before. _Sonea must be feeling awful_, he thought, letting out a short snort.

He pulled on his black robes that hung behind his door and heard Sonea rummaging around for hers in the room opposite. He pulled his black hood up, over his head and touched his door lightly with his fingertips, forcing it open. He slowed down as he walked past Sonea's door and held back a laugh as the sound of a clutter of inkwells falling to the floor echoed in Sonea's room. He smiled as a string of slum words came from the other side of the door, muttered quietly.

He stopped walking and rapped his knuckles on the door. He heard her movement, as well as her muttering, come to an abrupt halt. He smiled and stroked his chin while he waited. He frowned as his hand ran over a patch of stubble, and then smiled. He felt upbeat and fresh, but he doubted he looked it.

Sonea's hand stopped in mid-air as a gentle knock at the door echoed around her room. The inkwell continued to dribble ink, but she was too busy staring at the door to notice. He wanted to come in. Her stomach instantly churned and she lifted the inkwell upright. He may as well walk in. She had nothing to hide now. She gestured at the door and it swung open, revealed a rather rough looking Akkarin. She smiled and got up to gracefully bow.

"High Lord." She said, bowing. She forgot the inkwell was in her hand, and the contents tipped all over the brown robes she was wearing. Sonea muttered angrily under her breath and Akkarin raised his eyebrows.

She had definitely changed her tone since the time she bowed to him in the library. She sounded curious and even slightly happy now.

Sonea looked up at his amused expression and bit her lip. Akkarin approached her and pushed his hands down on her shoulders to make her sit on her bed.

"There will be no need to go to lessons today Sonea. After last night, I don't really think you will be able to stomach them." Akkarin said politely, a slight twinkle of happiness in is eyes. Sonea smiled, relieved. A small patch of stubble rested on both sides of his cheeks, and even though he looked rough, his eyes certainly showed that he was feeling fine. Akkarin took his hands off her shoulders and began to head out the door. He turned to Sonea and raised his eyebrows in question. Sonea got up and followed.

"I guess I can say we both need a short trip to the Baths" He chuckled, opening the door to the High Lords Residence. Sonea hummed happily in agreement and looked up at him. Even though she still hated him for what he had done, she was still proud to be his favourite novice.

* * *

Rothen gazed at Sonea in shock as he saw her stroll out of the High Lords Residence, a slight bit later then usual. He had checked on her regularly each day, but it was not very common to see the High Lord joining her. Not very common at all. He edged closer to the window and wiped the condensation away with his sleeve. Whenever Sonea had approached the High Lord's Residence before, he had realised the fear and sadness in her eyes, sometimes even anger.

But as he watched her walk out of the High Lord's Residence today, Akkarin walking beside her, he couldn't help but stare at her expression. It was unlike anything he'd even seen upon her face before. It was a mixture of curiosity and even a slight bit of happiness. As he watched them turn for the Baths, he narrowed his eyes further. There was something else there, something he couldn't quite put his finger on...

"Rothen!" Someone shouted from behind him. Rothen jumped and turned around, a startled expression upon his face. Lorlen approached him and noticing the shocked expression on his face, he chuckled.

"I'm sorry dear friend, did I frighten you?" He asked, still smiling. Rothen, who's hand was placed upon his heart comically, began to breath again.

"Yes. You did a little."

Lorlen smiled at him, then his gaze shifted to out the window.

"Been watching her again have you?" He said, shifting his gaze back to Rothen. Rothen nodded guiltily and looked back out the window. Sonea and Akkarin had moved from view. Lorlen tapped him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sure she's fine. Akkarin wouldn't treat her with any disrespect." Lorlen assured him quietly. Rothen nodded.

"I hope so."

* * *

**By the way, Lorlen doesn't know about Akkarin using the black magic. Just so you don't get confused. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Sonea rubbed her hair vigorously with her towel, then brushed it down with the silver brush she had brought with her. She slipped on her casual clothes, and then pulled on her brown robes over the top. She snuggled down into the soft, warm fabric and went outside into the hallway to look out the window. The sun was about to rise and was leaving a warm red beam of light along the windows of the University. A door behind her opened and she turned around.

Akkarin stood in front of her with just his trousers on, his hair dripping wet. She blushed furiously, but kept her eyes on him. He smiled at her.

Sonea nodded slowly, making sure she kept her eyes firmly on his. He turned and opened a cupboard which led to towels, took one off of one of the shelves and began to rub his hair. Sonea watched in fascination.

_Ha, no one would believe me if I said I'd seen the High Lord towel dry his hair_ she thought, chuckling. Akkarin walked out with the towel still in his hands. His hair, even though it had been roughly towel dried, still stayed straight. He threw the towel into a nearby basket, and then ran a hand just above his hair as he dried it. Sonea watched as the deep black, wet hair turned back into the shiny, long hair that she had seen too many times. Akkarin looked at her, her own hair still dripping. He walked up to her and placed his hand above her hair. She looked at him, worried. The corners of his lips curled upwards at her concern.

"Don't be worried. If I burn it off, then you have my permission to burn mine off too." He propositioned, gently starting to warm her hair. Sonea stiffened as she felt the warmth against her scalp, then relaxed as the warmth turned out to be relaxing as it tickled her scalp gently. When Akkarin was finished, he moved away and pulled on his shirt, draping his robes over his shoulders. Sonea ran a hand through her now dry hair and smiled. It felt amazing. She stood up and walked beside Akkarin, out of the Baths. All she wanted to do now was curl up and sleep.

* * *

This time is was Lorlen's turn to stare. He looked at his best friend walk out of the Baths with his black robes draped over his shoulders and let out a sharp laugh. In all the years that Akkarin had been High Lord, he had never seen him look, or act, so casual. Lorlen knew that Sonea was scared and frightened of Akkarin when he took her away from Rothen, so he guessed Akkarin was doing this to make her feel easy. Yet he couldn't help but realise the sparkle in Akkarin's eyes whenever he glanced at Sonea.

Lorlen smiled to himself. He certainly thinks highly of his novice, he thought. Akkarin looked almost smug as he made his way to the High Lords Residence with Sonea. Lorlen chuckled. Akkarin had certainly made a good choice when it came to taking her guardianship. Lorlen jumped as a hand rested on his shoulder.

"I'm sure Akkarin can look after himself." Came Rothen's mocking voice from behind him. Lorlen let out a snort, turned around and pushed Rothen playfully. Rothen was smiling at him, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Lorlen said nothing, just gave him a respectful nod and head off to his office. Rothen watched as Sonea walked into the High Lords Residence, Akkarin following behind.

_If only he knew, _Rothen thought.

* * *

Sonea lay down on her bed, her arms spread out. She felt like going back to sleep, but she knew she couldn't. She was too busy listening as the other novices ran around to their next lesson when the gong sounded.

She smiled. It was nice of Akkarin to give her the day off. Then she frowned. Akkarin wanted her to tell him what had happened between her and Regin. She shuddered in disgust as the memory replayed in her head. She jumped off her bed and warmed the floor beneath her feet. A gentle knock came from the other side of the door and Sonea froze. As much as she enjoyed Akkarin's company, she still dreaded having to face him in case he asked her about Regin. She lifted her feet up off of the floor and curled up on her bed, gazing out the window. She instantly regretted doing so. Rothen was sitting on a bench, his head in his hands, nodding to the occasional magician that passed him curiously. A huge wave of guilt passed over her. It was unfair to Rothen that she was proud to be Akkarin's novice. Rothen had claimed guardianship of her first and he had looked after her like a daughter. And now she wasn't even allowed to speak to him because the High Lord was too worried about being stripped of his rank and executed. She stared at the door angrily, guilt taking over again. She had even begun to like Akkarin, even after what he had done.

She felt ashamed, and swung the door open angrily, making it crash into the wall. Akkarin stared at her in surprise. Sonea looked at her feet, frowning.

_Oh dear, _Akkarin thought, slowly walking in.

"Sonea?" He asked, concerned. Sonea looked up and stared at him, anger still flittering around in her stomach along with other feelings. _Go away,_ she told them. Akkarin walked forward, but Sonea backed away to lean against the wall. She had that look in her eyes again. The look of hatred. It was Akkarin's turn to be confused. He hadn't offended her had he? She watched as Sonea looked out the window, her legs curled up underneath her. Her eyes glazed over with love and sadness.

Akkarin moved forward a step quietly and instantly regretted it. Sonea was looking into the grounds, staring at Rothen who was sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. Tears began to fill Sonea's eyes. She blinked them away furiously.

_Not again, _she firmly told herself.

"Sonea," Akkarin began. Sonea turned to look at him, unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sonea, you know why I can't let you see him." Akkarin said firmly. Sonea snorted loudly as the same stare she had tried to avoid for so long returned to his eyes. She turned to look back out the window. Silence spread between them.

"Rothen is twice the guardian you'll ever be." She murmured, loud enough for him to hear. Sonea said it with confidence, yet she knew she didn't say it with full confidence. Akkarin frowned. Even though he had no choice but to take her guardianship, the comment still stung.

Sonea stood up off her bed and walked past him.

"I don't need a day off. I'm going to lessons." She muttered to him as she passed. She stopped when she reached the door and Akkarin turned to her. Then she turned and bowed.

"High Lord." She said respectfully, her tone full of disgust. Akkarin bowed his head politely in reply and watched as she walked away.

_Darn,_ he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Sonea walked angrily out of the High Lords Residence and strolled along the path to the gardens. She smiled as she saw the figure that she wanted to see still sitting in the garden with his head in his hands. She approached him without hesitation. I don't care what Akkarin says, she thought. He can't keep me from him forever. Rothen kept his head down as Sonea approached him.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just leave me to my thoughts." Rothen said assuming Sonea was just another magician.

"Well, if that's what you want." She said playfully, turning away. Rothen's ears pricked up at the sound of her voice and he lifted his head up quickly.

"Sonea!" He exclaimed, his eyes filling with happy tears. Sonea grinned at him, and let herself be pulled into an embrace. They remained hugging, ignoring the strange looks from magicians as they passed. Rothen was smiling at Sonea as they pulled away and his eyes twinkled with happiness.

"How have you been?" He asked her. Sonea smiled slightly in return.

"I've been fine." She replied. Rothen looked around, and then lowered his voice.

"Has he been treating you ok?" He asked. Sonea nodded.

"More then ok. I just miss you." She said sadly. Rothen looked at her, his expression sympathetic.

"I miss you too Sonea, but I promise, we will sort this out. I won't let him keep you forever." Rothen whispered, his eyes sparkling. Sonea nodded and grinned at him.

"He won't Rothen."

* * *

Akkarin waited patiently in the High Lords Residence for Sonea's return, while Sonea and Rothen walked around the University, discussing old things and magic. Rothen stopped at the Magicians Quarters and turned to Sonea.

"Coming in for tea?" He asked. Sonea shook her head.

"No doubt Akkarin already knows I've spent the entire day with you, so I guess he'll be awaiting my return." Sonea looked up at Rothen and smiled grimly. Rothen smiled at her.

"I enjoyed today Sonea. I know we aren't allowed to speak, but I'm glad we did." Rothen grinned at her and pulled her into one last hug.

"Don't stay away too long." He called after her as she walked out of the doors towards the High Lords Residence.

Sonea grinned to herself. It had been so long since she had felt like she had with Rothen. He had made her feel elated and happy. But as she glanced up at the High Lords Residence, the same dread that she had felt for months whenever she looked up at it, returned.

She walked up to the door and as usual, it swung open on her touch. But this time it swung open a little too hard and hit the wall. Sonea winced, but walked forward, staring at Akkarin. He was sitting behind his desk, with both of his elbows on the table and his hands entwined with each other. His intimidating black hood was over his head and his expression was hidden by the shadow.

Sonea shivered as she once again thought of the irony of black magic and black robes.

"Sonea" Akkarin said quietly. Sonea flinched at the use of her name and bowed.

"High Lord." She murmured, fear quavering in her voice.

"Sonea, I said that we have rules. One of the rules was to not, on any circumstance, approach Rothen. You have broken that rule." He murmured the tone in his voice untraceable. Sonea felt anger bubble inside her. She mustn't be intimidated by him.

"We haven't spoken about your dirty hobbies. We just wanted to speak to each other like old times." She replied coldly. Akkarin flinched and she smiled to herself. She'd hit a nerve.

"If you knew the reason Sonea, you may not be so eager to insult. I gave you permission to speak to Rothen only and ONLY to make it not look suspicious. But you spent the entire day with him. As a result of this..." Sonea held her breath. "...you will be remaining inside, and I will bring you in a tutor."

Sonea's mouth fell open. Now he really WAS keeping her hostage.

"But-" she began to protest.

"Sonea, you are in no place to persuade me otherwise." Akkarin said assertively. Sonea stopped talking abruptly and glared at him. She couldn't imagine the Akkarin sitting there being the one who had helped her in the kitchen the night before. She turned to go up the staircase, not even bothering to bow. _He doesn't deserve respect, _she thought, slamming her door shut.

She was his hostage before and she's even more of a hostage now. Sonea sat on her bed and rubbed her temples. It had been worth it, talking to Rothen again. It'd improved the day on his side no doubt. She yawned and looked out of the window. The sun had just gone down and the moon was slowly rising. She put her head on her pillow, and surprisingly enough, fell asleep.

Akkarin rose from his chair and cursed quietly. He walked up to his wine cupboard and poured himself some of his favourite wine and downed it. Sonea had turned back to her stubborn self but he couldn't let that distract him. He still had his secret to protect. He shook his head as he poured himself another glass. He downed that one too and winced as it blurred his vision. He walked over to his chair and went to sit on it and missed completely. He swore and laughed to himself, then got up and sat on the chair. A crash came from his underground room and his eyes widened. He stood up quickly, but the strong Elyne wine went straight to his head and he collapsed, only managing to take a quick glance at the Sachakan magician bursting through the entrance to the underground room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Sonea sat up quickly, awoken from her deep sleep. She near enough jumped out of her bed and slammed her door open, and then she hesitated. She had better be as quiet as possible. The crash could have come from Akkarin. She wasn't going to take a chance that it may have been, so she tiptoed down the stairs all the same.

She opened the door a crack and peered into the seating area, wincing at the cold stone that rubbed against her feet. She held her breath when she realised Akkarin's familiar form lying on the floor. A strange man stood above him, his skin a sickly brown and dark hair standing out in the bright light. She watched in horror as the man approached Akkarin with a knife. She stared a little closer at Akkarin and realised that he hadn't been knocked out, but had in fact fainted.

She snorted lightly, before opening the door and bringing up her shield. The man looked at her in surprise. Sonea managed to catch him off guard and sent a combo of stun strikes and fire strikes at him. When the man raised his own shield, Sonea didn't even blink an eyelash. She had assumed he was a magician because the knife he was holding was nearly exactly the same one that Akkarin had used on Takan all that time ago. She frowned in concentration and almost let out a cheer of victory as the magician crumpled to the floor.

She ran up to Akkarin and stared at his face. He smelt of strong alcohol and Sonea recoiled in horror at the bottle of strong Elyne wine standing on the counter. Akkarin was surely no alcoholic. She crouched down beside him again and pushed him lightly on the shoulder. He stirred and opened his eyes. He almost jumped back when he saw the pair of beautiful tropical blue eyes staring straight at him. It took him a while to realise it was Sonea.

"Akkarin." She whispered, concerned. Akkarin's stomach churned unintentionally at the use of his name. Sonea stood up and put his arm over her shoulders.

He was still slightly tipsy, so he was pretty much legless until the next morning. Akkarin stared at the, now dead, magician and stared at Sonea in surprise. She smiled at him slightly and began to walk up the stairs to the bedrooms. Akkarin frowned at himself. He takes away her guardian, he tells her she's getting tutored, and he blackmails her. Yet she still helps. Sonea opened the door to Akkarin's room and led him inside.

"I don't think you're drunk enough to not be able to get undressed yourself." Sonea joked. Akkarin let out a snort.

"I wouldn't mind some help." He murmured quietly. His eyes widened as he realised what he'd said. The alcohol had gone to his head. He glanced at Sonea quickly, but she hadn't heard him. Akkarin chuckled to himself. Look at him, the High Lord, tipsy. He was always telling magicians to be careful with the amount of wine they drunk because when a magician gets tipsy he can use wrong spells on the wrong people. Sonea turned away to go back to her bedroom.

"Sonea." Akkarin said, his speech slurred. Sonea turned back around to him and inclined her head in question.

Akkarin approached her and bent down to her ear. Sonea felt as his soft skin brush against her cheek and shivered with pleasure.

"Thank you." He whispered, falling against her slightly. Sonea swallowed and nodded, breathing in his scent. She couldn't trust her voice.

"Goodnight Sonea." He whispered again, his breath tickling her ear. She almost recoiled in surprise when Akkarin kissed her lightly on the cheek. Then he turned and stumbled across to his bed. Sonea remained frozen for a second, unwanted emotions swirling around in her stomach. Then she turned away and shook her head. He was tipsy, that was the reason. It had to be.

* * *

Akkarin awoke the next morning with, surprisingly enough, no headache or dry throat. He willed himself to get out of his comfortable bed and pulled on casual wear and then his robes. He stood up, still slightly dizzy and poured himself a glass of fresh, sparkling river water. He flinched as the bubbles popped in his face, but swallowed it all the same. He felt the bubbles sparkling as they travelled down his throat. He detested sparkling water, but he knew that it cleansed magician's bodies more then ordinary water.

He opened the door to his bedroom and head down the stairs, making sure he was holding the rail at all times. He opened the door and almost yelped in surprise at the man lying on the floor. Then he chuckled to himself as he remembered the night before. He stopped abruptly when he realised. He would have been dead, had it not been for Sonea. And she had killed a magician, unknown whether he was an ally or a victim. She had killed him, just because he had approached Akkarin. He walked up to the man and nudged him slightly with his foot. Scorch marks lay upon his sickly brown skin and white dots where left where the stun strikes had hit him. He flicked his hand up and opened the door to his underground room. He head down the steps, the body floating in front of him and left him on the floor of the underground room. The Thieves will no doubt already know of the intruder and will pick him up later. Akkarin head up the stairs and fastened the door shut behind him.

"Good morning." Came a sweet sounding voice from behind him. He turned to smile at Sonea, but stopped. She was wearing her nightgown again, the same one he had seen in the kitchen, but it had more of an impact on him this time. Her hair was ruffled and hung just below her cheekbones, which radiated in the slight sunlight of the window and shone on her pastel skin. Akkarin swallowed and smiled back at her, desire rushing through his body.

"Morning" He croaked. Sonea grinned at him.

"You're always telling magicians to not drink. What a hypocrite." She laughed. Akkarin let out a shallow chuckle and approached the wine cabinet. He lifted up the wine bottle and realised that almost half of it was gone. It was fresh open the night before. He frowned. He'd only had two glasses, why was half the bottle missing? Then he picked up his glass and snorted. He had picked up a huge glass from his cabinet that was usually used to put fruit juice in. He lifted the glass and placed it back into the cupboard.

Sonea watched him with fascination. The rough look suited Akkarin, with stubble growing at the side of his cheek and his long hair tied into a rough ponytail instead of the smart one he usually occupied. She breathed out a long sigh of relief when she realised that today was Freeday. She needed Viola to hurry up with her clothes or she'd have to spend the entire day in her nightshirt. She didn't feel insecure around Akkarin because she knew he would never see anything in her. She could walk around naked and he wouldn't care. She began chuckling at the thought and Akkarin raised one eyebrow in question at her. Sonea's stomach did a leap. _God, I love it when he does that, _Sonea thought. She shook her head and grinned at Akkarin.

"Just thought of something funny." She replied in answer to his expression. Akkarin nodded, slowly, showing that he didn't believe her. She turned her head when the door opened and Viola walked in with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

"Ah, thank you Viola." Sonea said, smiling at her. Viola said nothing, but bowed her head and walked away. Sonea sighed and began to make her way up the stairs. It was times like this she missed Tania. She changed into the white vest top and baggy grey trousers that Viola had given her and head back down the stairs. _No sense in putting my robes on, _she thought. _I'm not going anywhere._

Sonea walked back into the seating area and saw Akkarin sitting at his desk, with his black robes draped on the back of his chair. She stared at him in surprise. Akkarin looked at her expression and chuckled.

"Freeday isn't just for novices you know." He replied. Sonea nodded and smiled at him. What she was going to do today, she didn't know. She wasn't allowed to leave the Residence and Akkarin had no plans to leave either.

"Sonea. How would you feel if I said I could explain everything?" Akkarin said, his eyes glowing. Sonea stiffened and looked at him. He was serious.

"How do I know that it won't be a load of lies?" She asked before she could stop herself. Akkarin smiled at her.

"You'll just have to trust me." He gestured to the seat beside him. She hesitated, but moved forward and sunk into the cushioned armchair.

"You don't know it…" He said, pouring himself a glass of sparkling water. He looked up at her, his eyes pulling her into a dreamy trance.

"…but you're already half way there."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

"Where to start..." Akkarin began, pouring himself more sparkling water. Sonea stared at him intently, waiting for him to begin. Even if he was making it all up, she knew it'd be an interesting story.

"It began on my journey. As you already know, I travelled around the whole of Kyralia before I became High Lord in order to research ancient magic. I came

back from the journey unsuccessful with no useful research." He paused. "This isn't strictly true."

"On my travels, I came across the border of Sachaka. I'd already searched all of Imardin and Elyne for research and had actually come across lots while travelling. But I felt I needed more. My undying need for research seemed to take over my common sense, so when I reached this border I decided to cross.

What a mistake this was." He paused again as his eyes seemed to drift off into the distance.

"After travelling along the roads for a while, I discovered that nightfall had come and I needed a place to sleep. I stopped at a nearby campsite and took camp

there. However, later on that night, a few magicians came looking for me. To kill me." He gazed at Sonea's confused expression.

"These weren't Guild magicians. These were Rogues. Sachaka doesn't have any guilds, so magicians that are thought to have potential are just left, to live ordinary lives. But, a man named Shenko Raven discovered how to unleash his potential. He was overwhelmed at this discovery and began to use his magic. He taught others how to unleash it too. No one knows how he managed to do it, but o one ever asked. It was all going fine, until the magicians started to lose control. But, Shenko, being the bright magician he was, had already learnt it himself. So began the Sachakan Guild." Akkarin sipped his water and stared at the desk.

"After they had discovered that a Guild magician had entered the realms of Sachaka, they went in search for him. They thought that that said magician could teach them more about their magic." Akkarin looked up. "Of course, it is against Imardin law for any Guild magician to teach a rouge. Shenko was quick to discover this, so he sent his magicians to kill me. Of course, I took them on and killed half of his men. They were weak, so were easy to take over. But Shenko wouldn't stop there. Sachaka doesn't have any specific laws, so Shenko had managed to grasp his dirty little hands on a book abut black magic. He taught his men how to use it and they feasted on many Sachakan camps. I was too eager to continue my research into thinking about going back and I thought I had dealt with all of the magicians. Turns out I hadn't. Shenko sent these magicians after me and I lost. Their power was equal to that of 100 Guild magicians. I wasted away nearly all of my energy and they took me to him. Shenko kept me for a year after that, feasting on my energy and advancing his Guild. However, every time Shenko used black magic on me, I learnt a little more, until the knowledge of it was firmly beaten into my mind. I used the black magic to my advantage and killed Shenko 4 months before I head back to the Guild. I had lost all of my research, lost a year of my life and was in knowledge of black magic." Akkarin swallowed and stared harder at his desk.

"I managed to kill all of his magicians using black magic and made my way back here. The power was too much for me to handle, so the majority of days I'd go into auto-pilot and sometimes wake up in strange places that I didn't remember going to. After 3 months, I made it back to the guild." He looked up at Sonea. "I thought it had all finished. I pushed my past behind me and decided to continue in the Guild. However, when an old magician who taught control saw how much power I had, he suggested I go up for High Lord. The power from the magicians I killed still hadn't been used and it made me sick to think that inside me sat over 10 magicians life energy. But I went forward for it, unable to turn it down. And I got it. Then, a year after I was named High Lord, a Sachakan magician came from the passageway in my underground room. I threw my shield up, but recognized him straight away. He was one of the magicians that Shenko kept locked up in the other room. We had talked a few times, but close watch under the guard meant that we couldn't talk much. That's where Takan comes in. He told me that he had got out of his cell and had made his way back to the Guild. He had run to Sachaka as a slum dweller, hoping that returning home may bring in new hopes for him. But, Shenko found him and discovered his excruciatingly big potential and used him. Takan was originally as strong as I was before I used black magic. After he had gotten out of the cell, he had come in search for me. After returning to the slums and negotiating with the thieves, he finally found his way to the Guild. Now, he serves me and lets me use him as a source of power."

Sonea narrowed her eyes.

"Why do you need to use black magic on Takan?" She asked curiously. Akkarin chuckled at the look on Sonea's face.

"It seems the Sachakan Guild continued, run by the close friend of Shenko. Folt always seemed to stand beside Shenko, and I hadn't realised that I'd left him. So he's taken up Shenko's work and has bore vengeance. He sends constant magicians, each one stronger then the last. Takan discovered this and commanded me to use him as a source. I refused to at first, but after a near death experience with one of the magicians; I decided I had no choice. I'm afraid to say, that at this very day, that Sachakan Guild is increasing and their strength is ascending. Our Guild hasn't used black magic for centuries and I fear that the Sachakan's will realise this and attack. I've been trying to locate the exact position of this Guild so I can hunt them down and kill them. But I keep going around in circles. I convince myself I can defeat the Sachakan's easily, but then they send another magician, twice as hard as the last and I tell myself I can't do it alone." He avoided Sonea's eyes as he said this. Sonea stared at him.

"Why haven't you told the Guild of this?" She asked. Akkarin smiled grimly.

"Would you?" He asked slyly, flicking his eyes back over to hers. Sonea looked down. Akkarin had broken at least 3 laws before he had returned to Imardin, so even if he did tell them, they would sentence him to execution all the same. And Sonea wasn't sure they would believe him. She lifted her head up and stared Akkarin in the eyes. She looked at his glum face and smiled.

_The guild may not believe him, _she thought._ But I do._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

* * *

A bang from the underground room awoke Sonea and Akkarin from their comfortable talk and they both instantly sat upright. Akkarin turned to frown at the passage door and Sonea followed his gaze, confused as to why he had suddenly taken to staring at the wall. He got up quickly and strolled over, placing the palm of his hand on the wall. Much to Sonea's surprise, it began to slide inwards and it revealed a small darkened passageway. Before she could ask any questions, Akkarin began to walk down it. She sat for a second, and then hopped up onto her feet to follow him. Akkarin heard Sonea's footsteps behind him, but continued to walk. If it was another assassin, he may need some help. He almost stopped walking in surprise when he realised that the yell of a man came from the room. Had the assassin attempted to kill the Thief? He increased his pace and stopped when they reached a grubby wooden door. Sonea edged closer.

"Who is it?" She murmured into Akkarin's ear. His ear tingled and he turned to smile at her.

"I believe the magician we thought was dead is very much alive." His face turned serious and he raised his shield.

"Stay here." He commanded. Sonea was about to protest, but she didn't bother. Akkarin could very well handle himself. She nodded and Akkarin turned his head to open the door. He walked forward and gazed at a body that he realised as a Thief, a shallow cut sat across his wrist. Akkarin began to move forward quickly, but a force pushed him back against the wall. He struggled to get out, but the strength of it was too much for him to handle. Two Sachakan magicians arose from the floor and one of them approached him. The magician pulled out a knife and ran it across Akkarin's wrist. Akkarin stared in horror at the man, and tried to struggle from the invisible force holding him against the wall, but it was too much. It wasn't just the one magician's power put into the shield. It was all 3 of them. He had managed to take on one of the magicians at a time, possibly even two, but 3 were too much. Even with Takan's energy.

The magician released his wrist and walked back towards the murderer of the Thief. Akkarin frowned in question. They weren't killing him. He realised with horror when the magician who had used black magic on him placed his hand on the murderer's shoulder that it had been intended. The murderer needed more power and he had used Akkarin. The magician that Sonea thought she had killed so easily was grinning at him stupidly but his eyes quickly flickered over to the doorway when he saw movement.

Sonea stood in the doorway, petrified by the scene. But when she saw Akkarin against the wall, struggling against the force holding him up, she jumped forward. A strike blew in front of her face and she jumped back. The magician that she thought she'd killed was standing above the dead thief. She raised her shield.

"I killed you."She said in disbelief. The murderer chuckled.

"You thought you'd killed me. I needed to be sent down here in order to get this passageway open and allow my men through. We plan to kidnap Akkarin and take him back to the Guild with us. We haven't had enough men with us for the past few years, so taking him was dangerous. But now we have enough power and enough men to kill at least 10 Akkarin's. You see, Folt needed a new companion and what better man to choose then his very own brother. I'm Tol, nice to meet you." The man introduced mockingly. Sonea frowned at him.

Why did she need to know this? Surely telling her vital information was a bad idea? She flicked a concerned eye onto Akkarin. He was struggling slightly against the force on the wall, but she couldn't do anything to release him. She gritted her teeth.

"Leave him be." She murmured, only loud enough for Tol to hear. The magician chuckled.

"Oh, I can't do that. Folt would get angry with me." He threw her an evil grin. She frowned and began to throw fire strikes at him. He threw up his shield and blocked them all with ease. She cast an eye around the room as the walls flickered. There was a shield around the wall, just like in the Arena. She guessed that it didn't allow magicians outside of it to sense anything going on inside. This was why Akkarin did black magic and killed his assassins in the room.

"You don't seriously think you could kill me could you? I have the power of over 100 Guild magicians inside me. A mere slum girl can't do anything." He laughed, standing safely behind his shield. Sonea glared at him, all rules of fighting from Warrior lessons went out of her head and she began to throw the strongest strikes she could manage at him. The magician flinched as his shield wavered, but his grin soon began to widen as he put a little more energy into it.

Akkarin watched, unable to interfere. The force pushing him against the wall seemed to be slowly draining him of energy. He had never heard of long distance black magic, but it seemed to be happening. He looked over at Tol in amazement. Every ounce of energy Tol used was coming from Akkarin. Akkarin was helping with Sonea's fight, on the wrong side. He cursed. He should have been more observant. Sonea always seemed to distract him whenever she was around and now he was helpless to defend her. He couldn't remember his being so weak and helpless. He was the High Lord, what could be wrong with him? He watched Tol who was defending himself against Sonea's strikes and a sickening rush of realisation hit him. The magician was an Ichani. He cursed silently. The Sachakan's had got the Ichani on their side? The Ichani were twice as strong as a Sachakan magician. Sonea and him didn't have a chance, just against him, let alone 2 other Sachakan magicians.

He watched in horror as Sonea's legs buckled beneath her. She was using too much of her energy in her strikes. He stared at the Ichani and flinched at the horrible smile of satisfaction that crossed his face. He had planned this. Akkarin felt anger bubble in his stomach, but continued to watch as Tol made his way across to her.

She scrambled to her feet and held up her shield again, although it was much weaker then the last one. She fired weak blasts at Tol, but he continued to move forward. He stood about 2 metres away from her, when he countered one of her strikes and sent it towards her shield, breaking it on impact. She fell to the floor again, breathing heavily. She was completely exhausted now. She looked at her hands, still breathing and frowned. _How could the magician be so strong? _She looked up at him walking towards her and fear rushed through her. _Why is he bothering to fight me?_

She looked back down at her hands and screwed her eyes shut. Tol flicked his hand up into the air and an invisible robe wrapped around Sonea and he slowly lifted her into the air so she was levitating. She lifted her head up and tried to struggle out of the grip, but it remained firmly around her. Tol approached her and stopped when they were almost nose to nose. Sonea flicked her head away so she wouldn't have to look at his sickly smile.

He raised his hand and stroked Sonea's face. She winced as his cold, slimy hand brushed across her cheek and she began to tremble.

"What a nice novice you have here Akkarin. Beautiful AND strong." He moved closer and Sonea could feel his warm, foul-smelling breath on her cheek. She struggled against the invisible bind.

"Get off her." Akkarin said through gritted teeth struggling slightly against the force that was holding him up. He was staring straight at Sonea. She looked up at him in surprise. Akkarin, of all people, was suffering his dignity for her. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards him. Tol turned to Akkarin, smiling.

"Oh, does poor little Akkarin have a crush on his novice?" He mocked. Akkarin continued to stare at Sonea and struggled, glancing quickly over at Tol.

"That's High Lord to you" He spoke calmly. Tol let out a short laugh.

"Oh Akkarin, as stubborn as always."He laughed, turning back to Sonea.

"You have such beautiful eyes. Matched with such beautiful strength."He complimented again. Sonea looked away, keeping her eyes firmly on the wall. Her eyes widened in horror as a hand slowly began to travel up her shirt. She squirmed, but was still unable to break free.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Akkarin yelled louder. Sparks flew around his head and the invisible force collapsed suddenly. Sonea watched as Tol and the magician beside him crippled in pain at their power having been so cruelly yanked from them, but stared even more at the magician who had only flinched. The magician let out a short smile at her and she opened her mouth in surprise. The magician put his finger to his lips and Sonea nodded.

Akkarin had run across the room and leant forward to punch Tol hard across the face, ignoring the fact that magic would have been a safer option. Sonea stared at him in amazement, but it quickly turned into a frown as she realised it had no effect on Tol.

"Tut tut Akkarin. Are you ever going to do as you're told?"Tol shouted, grinning stupidly. He pushed out both his hands and a force sent Akkarin flying backwards. He landed on the floor, his back turned to Sonea. She stared at him in horror. This was Akkarin they was pushing around like a mere ragdoll. Where had all of his energy gone? The powerful man she once knew was laying sprawled across the floor like he was nothing. Tol flicked his hand upwards and Akkarin slowly lifted into the air, the same bind that held Sonea wrapping around him. His eyes flicked and she sighed in relief when she realised that he was still alive. Just.

She turned to look at Tol and frowned. He looked as though in a trance, and realised that he was in communication with another magician. But, it wasn't possible to communicate with magicians out of the room?

"Its his blood gem. There, on his index finger. It allows him to communicate with another magician privately. It's a tool of black magic, so not even this shield can overcome it" Came a voice from behind her. She turned and realised the friendly magician whispering into her ear. She observed his facial features and realised that he must have only been a few years older then her and had young, boyish features, hardened by the Sachakan magicians no doubt.

She turned to look at Tol and her eyebrows rose in surprise at the blood gem on Tol's finger. She looked away in surprise as Tol glanced over in her direction and grinned. Tol stared at her with amused satisfaction.

"I believe we have someone back at the Guild waiting for you."Tol told her, an evil smile spreading across his face. She stared at him in shock. They were kidnapping her? But, they only wanted Akkarin! She considered shouted to Lorlen or Rothen mentally, but she knew the magical barrier would block it and Tol would hear her. He flicked his hand and the binds around her dropped. She fell to the ground, only a little ounce of energy left.

"Co-operate and you'll live." He grumbled. She nodded, swallowing. She looked at Akkarin, who had given up trying to struggle and had remained where he was, gritting his teeth. Tol glanced at her look of longing and flicked his hand, releasing Akkarin too. She almost jumped forward, but the friendly magician put a warm hand on her back.

"Leave him."He whispered into her ear. Sonea swallowed and watched as the Sachakan magician that had stood behind Folt moved forward and drained him of even more energy.

"He's certainly gotten a lot stronger since we last saw him. But it won't last long before he's back to his real strength."Tol smiled grimly and pulled Akkarin up. Sonea stared at him. They were both helpless now. Neither of them had enough energy to defeat all of these magicians at once. They would have to co-operate and hope that death wasn't the end result. Tol pushed Akkarin next to her and she resisted the urge to jump forward and hug him.

"Move it." Tol growled, pushing them both through the passageway that led to the Thieves Road. As they walked, Sonea instantly regretting leaving her brown robes behind and began to shiver as the cold stone rubbed against her feet and the chilly air that roamed in the passageway brushed against her skin. She looked over occasionally to Akkarin, who was walking stiffly and slowly, staggering slightly. He had hardly any energy left at all. She lifted up her hand and placed it into his. Akkarin turned to her, but she kept her eyes straight ahead onto the road. She slowly sent some of her energy to him and he tried to pull away his hand.

"Don't."She said, gripping it tighter. She had plenty of energy left to walk long distances and Akkarin had hardly any at all. He relaxed as she sent her power through him and slowly began to walk straight. She dropped her hand from his and looked behind her. The friendly magician smiled at her and winked. She smiled back and turned away. _We won't be in this mess for much longer, _she thought. _We have a stranger on our side._

She flinched in surprise when Akkarin took hold of her hand again.

_- I'm sorry Sonea. _He sent to her mentally. She glanced at the magicians in front and realised they hadn't heard.

_- Don't be. I wouldn't have let them take you in the first place. We need to go through this together. _She sent back. She felt Akkarin's mood lighten slightly, but it dropped again.

_- I could have told you to stay upstairs, but I didn't. I wanted to prove to you that I wasn't lying. _Sonea winced. She had believed him, but it obviously didn't seem like that.

_- You don't need to prove everything you say. I know you wouldn't lie. _She replied. Akkarin grinned to himself and tickled the palm of her hand lightly before he let go. Sonea smiled. She was scared, curious, frightened and tired. But she was with Akkarin. It'd be ok.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Sonea bit hard into her stale bread and resisted the urge to sigh. Her and Akkarin had been put into one cell together, but the silence stretching between them was almost exceeding awkward. She didn't know what it was that was making them feel awkward, but she wasn't going to ask.

She looked over at the bed they were expected to sleep in and shivered. Folt may be a cruel man, but he still had given them a reasonably comfortable cell. The double bed looked strangely comfortable, but she had avoided the question of who will sleep in it for the entire evening. She looked around the rest of their cell and let out a sigh. Akkarin and her were prisoners and there was nothing she could do about it. They would have to wait for the friendly magician to put his plan into action. But they didn't know what that plan was just yet. Folt obviously had no idea that he had someone who was prepared to double cross him, standing alongside him.

Sonea frowned at the scar that rested along the palm of her hand. Folt was planning to keep Akkarin and Sonea for the use of his own, feeding off of them for as long as he could until they was no use to him anymore. He had forced them to give him power earlier that evening and both she and Akkarin were weary and tired. They had given each other occasional glances to see which of them would crack first and ask about the bed. However, whenever Sonea looked over at Akkarin, he didn't seem to be bothered by the situation.

"I'm going to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and sitting here isn't doing us any good." Akkarin said, standing up to his feet. Sonea nodded and looked at the bed again. Akkarin saw her staring at it and chuckled.

"Looks like we'll be sleeping together then." He smiled at her and head off into the small, shabby bathroom that led off from their room. Sonea stared after him in shock. He had brushed it off like it was nothing. She smiled to herself and shook her head. Akkarin had surprised her too many times before and she was only just beginning to get used to it. She pulled off her trousers and pulled on a pair of shorts that the friendly magician had passed to her along with her food. He seemed to want her out of this place more then she did herself. She smiled. Mysterious men were always the best, and she didn't even know the magician's name.

She walked over to the bed, running her hand along the smooth fabric as she did so, and pulled over the corner of the quilt. She stepped in and laid down, sighing as the smooth fabric brushed against her legs. Before she knew it, the warmth was overtaking her and she was just nodding off when she heard the door to the bathroom open and Akkarin strolled in. She turned to greet him, but found herself staring at his damp chest and wet hair instead. She turned away, feeling warm in places she know she shouldn't. She had seem him before like that, why did it have such an impact on her now?

_You love him, _a voice inside her cried out. Sonea frowned.

_I don't. I couldn't. He's done so much to harm me._

_Oh, but he's done so much to help you too, _her conscious cried in return. She shivered as Akkarin lifted up the quilt and cold air was let in, and stiffened as he slid down beside her, brushing against her skin. She felt her skin rise up in goose bumps and she once again felt herself burn. She stiffened even more when she felt Akkarin lean over, his damp hair brushing against her slightly and whisper in her ear.

"Sonea, are you awake?" He asked, resting a hand on her bare shoulder. Her vest top was thin and she could feel the heat radiating off of his body onto hers. She turned to face him, her shoulder prickling from his touch.

"Yes." She answered, covering the desire in her voice. Akkarin smiled at her.

"I can't sleep." He whispered, edging away. She turned her whole body around to face him and they lay face to face in the dark, like you would at a sleepover.

"I can't either." She replied coarsely. She wanted him to touch her again, just so she could be sure that her feelings for him wasn't a lie. He laid there and stared at her for a moment.

"Do you think that magician will help us?" She asked him, her voice still lowered down into a whisper. Akkarin relaxed slightly and his lips curled upwards.

"Yes. He is the brother of Takan. But Folt does not know this." He replied. Sonea's heart filled with hope and her heart went out to the magician.

"Jaime is indeed an impressive magician. He seems to have taken a liking to you too." Akkarin finished bluntly. Sonea flinched at the cold tone in his voice and realised the slight hint of jealousy. Surely Akkarin didn't feel the same way towards her...

"Yes, I seem to have taken a liking to him too." Sonea replied, dreamily. Akkarin frowned and Sonea held back a giggle.

"In fact, I was going to ask you whether we should bring him back to the Guild so he can be reunited with Takan again. He can live in my room." She said, off the top of her head. Akkarin stiffened and Sonea couldn't help but grin at him. He glared at her, which only made her giggle.

"Sonea, you really do worry me." Akkarin replied, trying as best as he could to sound stern. He couldn't help but chuckle with her. Sonea finished laughing and smiled at him.

"It seems unfair for Jaime to have to follow Folt around. It's the least we can do for him. But we can let him sleep with Takan, I'd rather have my room to myself." She quoted. Akkarin relaxed and smiled at her. Sonea yawned and shut her eyes, weariness taking over her body at last. She began to nod off and only awoke for a moment when she felt Akkarin's body brush against hers.

"Goodnight Sonea." He said, kissing her on the forehead. Sonea opened her eyes a little and watched as Akkarin gazed at her for a while, then he turned over, put his head on his pillow and went to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 9**

* * *

Sonea bit hard into her stale bread and resisted the urge to sigh. Her and Akkarin had been put into one cell together, but the silence stretching between them was almost exceeding awkward. She didn't know what it was that was making them feel awkward, but she wasn't going to ask.

She looked over at the bed they were expected to sleep in and shivered. Folt may be a cruel man, but he still had given them a reasonably comfortable cell. The double bed looked strangely comfortable, but she had avoided the question of who will sleep in it for the entire evening. She looked around the rest of their cell and let out a sigh. Akkarin and her were prisoners and there was nothing she could do about it. They would have to wait for the friendly magician to put his plan into action. But they didn't know what that plan was just yet. Folt obviously had no idea that he had someone who was prepared to double cross him, standing alongside him.

Sonea frowned at the scar that rested along the palm of her hand. Folt was planning to keep Akkarin and Sonea for the use of his own, feeding off of them for as long as he could until they was no use to him anymore. He had forced them to give him power earlier that evening and both she and Akkarin were weary and tired. They had given each other occasional glances to see which of them would crack first and ask about the bed. However, whenever Sonea looked over at Akkarin, he didn't seem to be bothered by the situation.

"I'm going to bed. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and sitting here isn't doing us any good." Akkarin said, standing up to his feet. Sonea nodded and looked at the bed again. Akkarin saw her staring at it and chuckled.

"Looks like we'll be sleeping together then." He smiled at her and head off into the small, shabby bathroom that led off from their room. Sonea stared after him in shock. He had brushed it off like it was nothing. She smiled to herself and shook her head. Akkarin had surprised her too many times before and she was only just beginning to get used to it. She pulled off her trousers and pulled on a pair of shorts that the friendly magician had passed to her along with her food. He seemed to want her out of this place more then she did herself. She smiled. Mysterious men were always the best, and she didn't even know the magician's name.

She walked over to the bed, running her hand along the smooth fabric as she did so, and pulled over the corner of the quilt. She stepped in and laid down, sighing as the smooth fabric brushed against her legs. Before she knew it, the warmth was overtaking her and she was just nodding off when she heard the door to the bathroom open and Akkarin strolled in. She turned to greet him, but found herself staring at his damp chest and wet hair instead. She turned away, feeling warm in places she know she shouldn't. She had seem him before like that, why did it have such an impact on her now?

_You love him, _a voice inside her cried out. Sonea frowned.

_I don't. I couldn't. He's done so much to harm me._

_Oh, but he's done so much to help you too, _her conscious cried in return. She shivered as Akkarin lifted up the quilt and cold air was let in, and stiffened as he slid down beside her, brushing against her skin. She felt her skin rise up in goose bumps and she once again felt herself burn. She stiffened even more when she felt Akkarin lean over, his damp hair brushing against her slightly and whisper in her ear.

"Sonea, are you awake?" He asked, resting a hand on her bare shoulder. Her vest top was thin and she could feel the heat radiating off of his body onto hers. She turned to face him, her shoulder prickling from his touch.

"Yes." She answered, covering the desire in her voice. Akkarin smiled at her.

"I can't sleep." He whispered, edging away. She turned her whole body around to face him and they lay face to face in the dark, like you would at a sleepover.

"I can't either." She replied coarsely. She wanted him to touch her again, just so she could be sure that her feelings for him wasn't a lie. He laid there and stared at her for a moment.

"Do you think that magician will help us?" She asked him, her voice still lowered down into a whisper. Akkarin relaxed slightly and his lips curled upwards.

"Yes. He is the brother of Takan. But Folt does not know this." He replied. Sonea's heart filled with hope and her heart went out to the magician.

"Jaime is indeed an impressive magician. He seems to have taken a liking to you too." Akkarin finished bluntly. Sonea flinched at the cold tone in his voice and realised the slight hint of jealousy. Surely Akkarin didn't feel the same way towards her...

"Yes, I seem to have taken a liking to him too." Sonea replied, dreamily. Akkarin frowned and Sonea held back a giggle.

"In fact, I was going to ask you whether we should bring him back to the Guild so he can be reunited with Takan again. He can live in my room." She said, off the top of her head. Akkarin stiffened and Sonea couldn't help but grin at him. He glared at her, which only made her giggle.

"Sonea, you really do worry me." Akkarin replied, trying as best as he could to sound stern. He couldn't help but chuckle with her. Sonea finished laughing and smiled at him.

"It seems unfair for Jaime to have to follow Folt around. It's the least we can do for him. But we can let him sleep with Takan, I'd rather have my room to myself." She quoted. Akkarin relaxed and smiled at her. Sonea yawned and shut her eyes, weariness taking over her body at last. She began to nod off and only awoke for a moment when she felt Akkarin's body brush against hers.

"Goodnight Sonea." He said, kissing her on the forehead. Sonea opened her eyes a little and watched as Akkarin gazed at her for a while, then he turned over, put his head on his pillow and went to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

* * *

Sonea yelped as she was yanked out of her warm bathe of quilts and stumbled to her feet. The light from the moon shone in from the tiny crack in the room and she stared at the culprit. Jaime had hold of her wrist and Akkarin was standing next to him, frowning slightly. Sonea frowned too and pulled her wrist free. She was tired and sleeping was the only way she could recover her energy and Jaime had interrupted her.

"What's going on?" She asked quietly. Jaime stared at her and smiled.

"It's time you left to save your Guild no?" He whispered, ushering her to stand next to Akkarin. She stared at him in confusion as her clothes were thrust into her arms.

"How exactly are we going to get out? We don't know the way back and this place is bound to be guarded like a prison." She asked him, her voice dropping lower. Jaime smiled at her again and her heart leapt. It was a hell of a smile.

"Folt has decided to attack your Guild tonight, while you slept under guard. I told the guards that Folt needed their help and opened the door for you two. You should be grateful." He explained, looking up from a bag of food and drink, smiling. Sonea sighed.

"I'm sorry, thank you." She whispered, looking back up at him. Jaime grinned at her and pushed open the door a little, looking left, then right. He turned back around and gestured for them to follow him. It was dark down the passageway and they only had a little globe light each to make their way back up towards the Guild. Jaime continued to walk through the wind of passages and Sonea was amazed at how he knew his way around them.

She didn't want to think how long he must have spent down here under Folt's will, knowing that his brother was running around somewhere above him.

She squealed in surprise when Jaime stopped walking and she nearly walked straight into him. He was frowning and looking upwards. They had hit a dead end, yet light shone in from a trap door above. Jaime lifted his hand up and hit the low-ceiling with the palm of his hand and the ceiling fell open, dirt falling from the cracks. It was obvious the entrance, or exit rather, had not been used for a fair amount of time. Jaime turned to smile at Akkarin's and Sonea's perplexed faces, and smiled.

"This will lead you to your underground room Akkarin. As far as I know, Folt has not called the attack yet. Be on full alert and please, make sure you get through it."

Akkarin nodded sternly in reply, took the bag of food and drink from Jaime and hauled himself up through the trapdoor hole. Sonea remained standing and was looking at Jaime. He turned to her and raised his eyebrows.

"You are not coming with us?" She asked in a small voice. Jaime shook his head.

"Folt would hunt me down, just like he had with Akkarin. I do not want to intrude, or die for that matter. He will not know that I let you out today, hopefully, so I may be able to return and visit you soon. I shall have to bid you farewell for now and hope that we meet again."Jaime grinned and nodded at her. He walked past her, but Sonea turned and clutched his sleeve.

"Jaime, we may need you. I don't want you to be killed under our responsibility. Come with us and we can protect you like we have protected your brother."

Jaime flinched at the mention of his brother and a look of mourn crossed his face.

"I have missed Takan. It will do me good to see him again." He looked as if he was considering something, but shook his head and turned away.

"I cannot. We will meet again Sonea. I promise it. Be safe and take care." He added, looking over his shoulder at her. She swallowed, words tightening in her throat and managed a small smile.

"Don't stay away too long Jaime." She whispered as he walked away.

Akkarin helped to haul her up and she dropped to the floor as soon as she had been pulled free of the hole. Jaime had helped them, risked his life, saved hers, saved Akkarin's and now, for all she knew, he could be walking straight into his own death. In the short minutes she had known Jaime; it was clear that he still had a love for life and had no intention of dying any time soon. But Folt may change that.

She wiped tears of fury away and stood up, blinking at the dirt she had just rubbed into her eyes. The room was just like they had left it. Akkarin stared at her a look of concern spread across his face, but walked over to the door that Folt had left open and closed it. Sonea wiped her hands on her trousers and sniffed. She had never been so emotional in the slums, but ever since Akkarin had taken over her guardianship, crying seemed to be the only way to let loose of her emotion.

"Come on, Sonea. We need to be prepared." Akkarin told her sternly, throwing the bag onto the table and beginning to pull on his boots. Sonea nodded and sniffed again. She followed the scruffy magician back upstairs into his room and watched as he slung his black cloak on over his dirty clothing. He had a small frown implanted onto his forehead and Sonea continued to watch as he strode across the room and poured himself a glass of wine.

She smiled and walked across the room to pour herself a glass.

"You have the right sized glass now I take it?" She asked, mockingly. Akkarin gave her a small smile, but that was all she got. She frowned and took a sip of her wine before placing it on the table.

"Is there anything wrong?" She asked, almost in a whisper. It put her out of character to ask him if there was anything wrong, it wasn't something she would usually do, but seeing Akkarin acting like this was more then a little strange.

He glanced over at her and took another sip of his wine, then placed it on the table beside hers and sighed.

"It's very difficult to explain." He began, avoiding her eyes. Sonea moved closer.

"I can try to understand. I think it's safe to say that we can tell each other a little more then a guardian would to a novice now no?" She replied, smiling. Akkarin turned to her.

"You see, that is the problem. We're no longer guardian and novice. We're friends. It's very difficult to bring you into all this mess if we're friends."He picked up his glass again and took a sip. Sonea winced for an unknown reason. Akkarin saying that they were 'friends' sounded strange. More then a little strange. Akkarin chuckled at her reaction.

"Is there anything wrong with that?"He added, raising an eyebrow. Sonea shook her head, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"No, it just seems a little-"

"Strange?"Akkarin interrupted. Sonea looked up at him and almost backed away when she saw him step closer.

"Yes..."She replied, her cheeks warming. She turned away and walked towards the sofa, her glass cupped in her hands. Akkarin put his glass down onto the shelf and walked towards the sofa, sitting himself beside her. She looked up at him and looked back down at her wine.

"I suppose after all that I have done to you, it would seem a little strange to consider me as a friend."Akkarin replied, twiddling his fingers. Sonea watched him and felt her stomach give a familiar lurch.

_You love him,_ the voice cried out inside her again. She watched him for a moment, staring at his familiar features. The way his cheekbones stuck out in a handsome manner and the way his lips seemed to always look so soft and kissable. The way his hair always draped scruffily around his broad shoulders and his hands. Oh, his hands that looked so long and elegant. She looked up at him and realised that Akkarin was watching her. She blushed and looked down.

_Yes,_ she thought. _I think I do_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

* * *

The sun began to shine in through Sonea's window, beaming down onto her bed. Sonea's forehead began to prickle from the heat as she slowly began to warm. She sat up quickly from her deep sleep, breathing heavily and sweat running down her face. Nightmares had shadowed her mind for nights now, making it a very difficult task to get a full 8 hours sleep. She had the nightmares, she knew, but when she woke up she never remembered what they had been about.

She squinted at the sun coming in through the window and pulled her curtains shut, then turned to glance at her watch on her bedside. She groaned. It was 4:00am and she had four hours left before she was due for class. She slung herself out of bed and pulled on the silky dressing gown that hung on the back of her chair. Then she opened her door quietly, and tiptoed her way down the corridor to the staircase. When she had reached the bottom, she slowly pushed the door open and made her way through. She glanced at the familiar figure sitting behind the desk and sighed, sitting in a comfy bench in the corner of the room.

"Good morning, Sonea." Akkarin murmured, his hands entwined in each other and his elbows placed upon the desk. Sonea looked up and nodded politely. She had awoken each morning earlier and earlier due to her nightmares, only to find that Akkarin had managed to be up before her. She didn't think he slept, but she always saw him walking into his bedroom at night. He was possibly just a light sleeper.

Akkarin watched as Sonea let out yet another yawn. He had heard her shouts in the middle of the night for the past few days and they deeply disturbed him. Her nightmares were clearly getting worse each night as she awoke earlier. He frowned. He felt as though he needed to be awake for her when she was awake, so he found himself waiting for her, making his sleep a very difficult thing to come by.

"I can contact Lady Vinara if your nightmares are getting too frequent, Sonea." He asked quietly. Sonea looked up at him in surprise. He knew about her nightmares. She shook her head gently

"I'll be fine." She replied. She yawned again as weariness clouded her head, feeling her eyes droop surprisingly. She shook her head hard to wake herself up. She didn't want another nightmare after just having one.

Akkarin watched as she struggled to stay awake. He wanted to go over and reassure her that he could solve her problem, but somehow he could not bring himself to do it. They were close, but he still did not feel comfortable with treating her in such a friendly manner.

Sonea rested her head on the arm of the bench and sighed. She was exhausted. She closed her eyes and before she knew it, she had fallen into a deep sleep.

Akkarin took a sip of sumi and smiled as the slow breathing of Sonea echoed in the silence. She had been down here for the past few days, but she hadn't yet fallen asleep.

"No..." Sonea whined, flinching in her sleep. Akkarin stiffened. She couldn't be having another nightmare? He rose from his chair and made his way over to her, bending down at her side. Her brow was twitching into a frown every so often and she would flick her head into another direction every so often.

"Stop..." She murmured, choking on her words. Akkarin leant in closer and raised an arm, ready to awake her.

"Akkarin..." Akkarin stopped at the mention of his name and frowned. She was having a nightmare about him?

As soon as Sonea began to scream out his name, he rested his hand on her shoulder. She awake instantly and sat up, tears streaming down her face. She had gone extremely pale and was breathing heavily. She looked at Akkarin.

"Akkarin..." She whispered. She jumped forward and pulled him into an unexpected hug, like she hadn't seen him in years. Akkarin almost jumped back in surprise, as did Sonea, but instead he slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. They soon got over the shock of the hug and relaxed, enjoying the warmth of each other. Akkarin leant forward and moved her hair away from her ear.

"You were screaming my name..." He whispered. He felt her body stiffen and looked into her eyes as she pulled away. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and stared at him in disbelief. He dropped his arms back down to his side and rose, walking back over to his desk. Sonea stared after him.

"I-" She began. She shook her head and stood up to walk over to Akkarin. She stared at Akkarin's hands and realised they were trembling slightly. She looked down at her own and realised that hers were shaking a lot more violently. She clenched them and made her way over to Akkarin. He looked up at her and smiled weakly.

"You scared me." He said, letting out a soft snort. Sonea bit her lip and looked at the floor.

"I think I will need to contact Lady Vinara." She said quietly. Akkarin glanced down at her trembling hands and looked back up at her eyes.

"Sonea, if you do not mind me asking, what are these nightmares about?"

Sonea continued to stare at the floor.

"I can never remember when I wake up." She mumbled. Akkarin sighed and clenched his own trembling hands. Sonea sat down in a chair that sat in front of Akkarin's desk and put her head in her hands. She had had a nightmare about Akkarin, and she didn't even remember it. But she didn't know whether or not she wanted to. Akkarin stared at Sonea's stressed posture and walked over to her. He bent down and took her shaking hands in his own. She relaxed, her heart leaping as Akkarin's warm hands enveloped hers.

"Sonea. I can let you be if you don't want to be dragged into all this mess. I trust you enough to be able to send you back to your rightful guardian and know that you will not tell anyone of the secret I need to be kept. You know the truth, so you won't think badly of me anymore. That's all that matters. I'm making your time at the Guild a lot more troubling then it should be, and I don't want that."

Sonea looked up at him and stared. His eyes were almost glowing and the bags under his eyes seemed to frame his face unnaturally. He needed a break more then she did.

"No." She said sternly, standing up. "I won't let you do this on your own. You are needed more then I am at the Guild and having you die because I left you, certainly won't help me."

Akkarin blinked in surprise at her sudden change of mood and stood up, looking at Sonea. Then a smile pulled at his lips. Sonea was surprised at first and then began to smile back.

"Sonea, you never cease to amaze me." He chuckled. He looked down at her shoulder and stretched out his arm. He grasped the collar of her dressing gown, which had slipped down her shoulder and pulled it back up. Sonea drew her breath at the sudden contact and her cheeks began to warm. He smiled at her again before sitting back at his desk. She swallowed and made her way back upstairs to her room.

Akkarin let out a sigh as she left the room. His hand was tingling were he had touched her skin and he knew that if she wouldn't have left he would have found some other reason to stand close to her. He frowned at his unprofessionalism. Each time he touched Sonea an unwanted wave of desire rushed through him and he didn't know what to do about it anymore. The unexpected hug from her kept on running through his mind, the feeling of her held safely in his arms meant more to him then it had done before.

He frowned and shook his head. She was young, too young, and he was dangerous. His frown disappeared as he remembered her protest about her staying and chuckled. She was full of surprises. He just wondered how long it would be before he was used to the fact, that he was not alone anymore.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

* * *

"It's beautiful" Sonea whispered to herself, her eyes glowing with awe and fascination. She stared into the open field which was orange in the setting sun, with Imardin in the distance, the walls looking tall and dangerous. Akkarin smiled at the expression on her face and felt a rush of happiness. He had waited until Freeday before taking Sonea through the passages in the slums and out of the city, to a place he had visited many times when he felt that his mind was too crowded and he needed space to think. Inside Imardin was like a wall that stopped all of your thoughts running free.

He and Sonea had travelled slower then he usually would, but it was worth it to see the awe on her face. He felt he had put too much weight on her shoulders since he had told her about black magic and she needed to go somewhere where she could push everything out of her mind, just for a day. He had stumbled upon the entrance while he was searching the passages for possible escape routes. At the time, he had not realised he had ventured so far, but he was absolutely hypnotised by the beauty that the field possessed. Sonea had frowned upon the idea of exiting the Guild again, but Akkarin said that he knew the underground passages like a map on the back of his hand, so he had gained her trust. He chuckled to himself. He knew the passages possibly even better then the Thieves. He had caught sight of a few of them on the way to the field, but they had recognised him instantly and had no intention of stopping him. Sonea knew nothing of the place they were heading to, all Akkarin told her was that they were going somewhere he thought she might find interesting.

Sonea gazed at the field in amazement. She had thought Akkarin would have meant something that involved learning a little more about black magic, not this beautiful place. She walked over to the center of the field and laid down, her arms behind her head. She felt free, not like a caged animal. Akkarin shrugged his robes off and lay down beside her. They remained quiet for a moment, just staring at the orange sky, and then Sonea sat up and lifted a knee up for her elbow to rest on.

"Why did you bring me here Akkarin?" She asked, tilting her head in question. Akkarin sat up and leant in a similar position.

"You don't like it?" He asked, even though he knew the answer was obvious. Sonea shook her head.

"It's amazing. But I don't understand why you brought me here." She replied, staring at him. He stared back.

"I feel I have been a little too heavy on you. I keep on forgetting that you've been put under so much more pressure then I take you for. I thought maybe if you spent a little time away from it all, you'd finally let loose a little." He replied, shrugging his shoulders. Sonea's insides began to squirm at his thoughtfulness. It was so nice of him to consider her for a change.

"Thank you." She replied, grinning at him. Akkarin nodded politely in return. She lay back down and rolled over onto her side, leaning on her elbow and resting her cheek against it. Akkarin done the same and they watched in silence as the sun slowly began to set over the hills. Sonea flushed when she realised that usually this would be quite an intimate thing to be sharing, but she knew that Akkarin wouldn't be thinking the same. When the sun had finally set, Sonea rolled over onto her side and gazed at the stars.

She was surprised at how long her and Akkarin had been laying in silence, but she knew that tonight was supposed to be the shortest day of the year, so she was lucky to have seen the sunset so quickly. She shivered as a cold wind blew across the grass and the blades tickled her ankles.

"Here, have this." Akkarin said suddenly, leaning back up off of his robes. Sonea sat up too, clutching both of her arms around her to keep herself warm. Akkarin moved closer and leant forward, wrapping the cloak around her shoulders. Sonea avoided his eyes as he did so and breathed in his scent from the robes, shivering with glee at the warmth of them. She noticed goose bumps on Akkarin's own arms and frowned.

"Here, you can have it, I'll just use my energy." She said, unravelling it from around her.

"No, don't waste your energy on something like that. You need all you can get" He replied, pulling the robes tighter around her. She bit her lip and couldn't help but snuggle back into his robes. Akkarin laid back down on the grass and Sonea laid down too. The stars always seemed brighter here then they did in Imardin. There wasn't as many obstructions in the way of the sky and it almost seemed as though they were floating. Sonea shivered again, this time because she was so close to Akkarin she could almost hear him breathing. Akkarin rolled over onto his side to face her and stared her in the eyes.

"What are you thinking?" He asked. Sonea stared at him, surprised by his unexpected question. She frowned in thought. She blushed as she realised she couldn't tell him exactly what she was thinking. Akkarin noticed her blush and smiled to himself. She was obviously thinking of something that she didn't want him to know.

"I'm thinking of how nice it is to be away from Imardin and away from pretty much, everything." She lied, biting her lip. Akkarin chuckled. He knew when Sonea was lying because she always avoided eye contact and bit her lip. He surprised himself at how well he knew his own novice.

"I'll ask you again." Akkarin murmured, moving closer. Sonea stiffened as Akkarin's body came into contact with hers.

"What are you thinking?" He whispered. Sonea looked down at his lips that seemed to beg her to kiss them, and then glanced back up at his twinkling eyes. She opened her mouth, lost for words. Her feelings really weren't that obvious were they? She shut her mouth and shook her head.

"You would never believe me if I told you." She whispered back. There, that was a safe answer. Akkarin raised his eyebrows at her.

"I believe in a lot of things that are hard to believe. Try me." He replied, looking down at her lips. Sonea blushed at his intimacy and frowned. Maybe he was just trying to get to know her? She could be mistaking all of his signs for a small show of friendship. As she thought over the past few days, she knew there were moments when she AND Akkarin had felt something, but she had brushed it off. Akkarin might not be approaching her in the way she wanted him to. She didn't answer his question in the end, just laid back down on her back. She fell into a doze and jumped awake at the sound of a joli running across the field. Akkarin was laying on his back and quickly turned away as Sonea looked at him. She lifted her head up slightly, but found that her neck had stiffened. She began to rub it and was frowning in pain.

"Ok?" Akkarin asked her. "Do you want to go back yet?"

Sonea shook her head and smiled weakly. "I want to enjoy this as much as possible." She stopped rubbing her neck for a second as she wondered whether she meant the fact they were laying in a field or the fact that she was spending rare luxury time with Akkarin. Akkarin watched her rubbing her neck and slowly moved in behind her. She felt her stiffen as his knees touched her waist and he smiled.

"Don't use your Healing powers. You're tired enough as it is." He murmured, leaning in towards her ear. Her cheeks began to warm and she felt uncomfortable desire in all the wrong places. He was pressing himself up against her and she could feel her heart beating faster. Akkarin placed his cool hands onto the back of her neck and she shivered. Akkarin sent out his healing powers, but something within Sonea's mind called out to him. He couldn't resist and he located it. He almost pulled his hands back away in shock. All the times he had touched her accidently, brushed against her, talked to her, even looked at her, was stored away in the back of her head. He felt her emotions whenever she turned to look at him and the way she saw him. He watched the scene when his robes had brushed against her leg when he had brought her to dinner with him and felt her feeling then. For that long? He frowned at the expressions on his face whenever he looked at her. He had been certain he covered most of his emotion, but Sonea saw him with a friendly smile and even the occasional twinkle. Then he saw the most recent scene, with him kneeling behind her and the desire in places she didn't want to feel.

He couldn't believe it. Sonea was in love with him. He drew his hands back away from her neck and they both sat in silence. Akkarin slumped backwards onto the grass and Sonea turned to him.

"Akkarin..." She began. He sat on the grass and stared at her. Sonea's eyes began to fill with tears and she stumbled to her feet, ready to run back through the passages. Akkarin stumbled to his feet too and chased after her, grabbing her arm and turning her around. Her eyes still glistened, but the tears didn't fall.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Akkarin said sternly, but softly. Sonea stood, perplexed by his question for a moment.

"It's not something you bring up in a casual conversation, Akkarin." She snapped. Akkarin bent down to stare her in the eyes.

"You know I didn't mean it like that." He murmured, stepping closer. Sonea turned her head and looked away.

"The age difference is much too big, Sonea. Surely it would make you feel uncomfortable?" Akkarin whispered. Sonea flickered an eye into his direction. She was aware that Akkarin was so close to her that she could see his chest moving from his deep breaths, but her own heart was beating too loud in her ears for her to hear his breathing. She was stupid to have let Akkarin read her mind. She should have hidden her thoughts away, but instead the contact just brought them all up again. Now he must think that she had a stupid little crush on him.

Akkarin lifted his hand up and placed it underneath her chin, lifting her head up to face him. He stared deep into Sonea's hypnotising eyes, not bothering to hide his emotions with a mask anymore. Sonea allowed him to stare at her, but gazed at his own expression while doing so. The mask was gone and was replaced with raw emotion. Akkarin was showing what he really felt. She reached out, sending herself through their skin to skin contact and came to a halt at the door of Akkarin's mind. She didn't want to open it; instead she remained where she was, reading the surface of his thoughts. Akkarin felt Sonea's presence enter his mind and smiled. He let it be and let his emotions surge through his mind as he observed Sonea. He smiled to himself at the immediate change in Sonea's presence. She withdrew herself from his mind and Akkarin removed his hand from beneath her chin. Sonea said nothing, but leant forward, tilting her head towards Akkarin as she did so. She paused for a second, gazing down at his lips. Akkarin leant back for a moment, frowning as he thought over what he should do. He eventually gave in to his emotions and leant forward too, kissing Sonea's lips gently. She felt her knees go to jelly and shivered as Akkarin placed his warm hands around on her waist, pulling her closer. She compared the little amount of desire she had felt at the slight touch of Akkarin to the huge amount she felt now.

Akkarin ran his hand along her waist and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tighter towards him. Sonea stiffened as his hands slowly began to slide off her robes and slid to the floor, but relaxed and groaned slightly when he ran his hands along her bare skin. Akkarin couldn't think of anything at that moment in time except how much he wanted Sonea. He had waited and fantasised about touching her skin and here was, doing just that. He began to lift her casual shirt she was wearing under her robes upwards, and then froze. He wanted her. He wanted her bad, but the Guild...

"Stop." He ordered, backing away. Sonea slumped back down onto the bottoms of her feet and stared at him in shock. She opened her mouth, and then shut it again. She was about to ask him why, when she realised it for herself. If the Guild was to find out about the both of them, the scandal would be huge. Akkarin took a side glance at Sonea and she realised that the mask was back on his face.

"I'm sorry, Sonea. I should not have kept you out this late. Let us head back, you have lessons tomorrow." He told her, avoiding her eyes. Sonea nodded and swallowed. He was acting as though nothing had ever happened. Her desire was now turning into anger. He had made her look a fool. She frowned at him and followed him through the exit. They travelled through the passages in silence, Sonea seething in her own anger. When they finally approached the entrance to the underground room, she was almost too tired to walk forwards. She didn't even have the energy to heal away her weariness. She stomped her way up the stairs and mumbled what sounded like goodnight to Akkarin and stomped her way up the other set of stairs. Akkarin winced as he heard her door slam a little too hard and sighed. What had he gone and got himself into this time?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

* * *

Sonea awoke the next morning to the sound of Novices running around in the grounds below. She sat up instantly and realised that she was late. She frowned. Her alarm had not gone off. She scrambled out of bed and pulled on her brown robes. She froze half way through tying up the robe when she remembered the night before. She cursed loudly and the anger she felt last night came back stronger then ever. She jumped as an inkwell went flying across the room and smashed into the wall beside the door. She looked up to examine the damage, and her heart stopped. Akkarin was standing in the doorway, a rather amused look on his face.

"A magician should always have control of their energy when angry. That could have been a much heavier object." He chuckled. Sonea frowned at his casual tone and looked back down, furiously tightening her robes.

"Why didn't my alarm go off this morning?" She snapped at him, cursing under her breath. Akkarin's amused expression continued to stay planted on his face.

"I turned it off. You looked very ill yesterday, so I thought you might have wanted the day off."

Sonea turned his back on him.

"Well, if the Guild was to find out that you were preventing me from attending my lessons, they really wouldn't be too pleased." She snapped angrily at him again, her back still turned to him.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lesson I need to go to and excuses that need to be made." She grumbled, pushing past him. She heard Akkarin call her name, but she continued to run down the steps and out of the Residence. She had had enough of Akkarin and his stupid mood swings. If he wanted to act like a perfect High Lord, then she'll act like the perfect Novice.

As she began to head towards the University, she heard the door behind her shut again and feet run after her. Akkarin gripped her arm and turned her round to face him.

"Sonea, you're not ok. Have you looked at yourself? You look awful. I can't have my novice walking around looking like she's about to drop dead any moment. Come back inside." He said, searching her eyes. Sonea glared back at him and yanked her arm out of his grip. Angry tears hung at the back of her eyes.

"You know for a moment..." Sonea choked on her words. "I actually thought you cared."

Akkarin let his arm fall to his side and watched as Sonea turned to walk away. He had blown it. The trust he had taken so long to build up with her had fallen, with the click of a finger. Or kiss of the lips, rather. He cursed and turned away to walk back into his residence, slamming the door as he did so.

* * *

Rothen watched the scene with shock. When he had seen Sonea earlier that week, she had been happy and looked jumpy and alive. But now, when she walked off towards the University, she looked sad and haggard. The amount of disrespect she dared to give the High Lord was amazing, as though they were friends, not hostage and capture.

Rothen frowned. Sonea would not have sunk low enough to befriend Akkarin. Not after what he had done. But when he thought back to the time when Akkarin and Sonea had head for the Baths, his decision wavered. She looked up at Akkarin with a different eye then she looked up to him. He looked at her with the look of father to daughter, but when she looked at Akkarin._ No, _he thought. _She wouldn't..._

The image of Sonea looking up at Akkarin all those weeks ago was as clear as the sun. Her eyes glowed with thought and pleasure when she looked up at him. Then the tears and sadness in her eyes when Akkarin had caught up with her and had obviously said the wrong thing. Rothen shook his head and almost laughed. Sonea was stupid enough to fall in love with the High Lord.

He stepped up off of the windowsill and walked down the corridor, ready to intercept with Sonea. He bumped right into her, startling her. Her face gained a little colour, but her expression remained chiselled.

"Sonea! How are you?" He asked, knowing the answer before she would reply. She stiffened and narrowed her eyes. Rothen usually avoided her during the weeks, sticking to Akkarin's rule, but now he had approached her casually. She was overwhelmed to see her former guardian, but now was not the time for questions.

"I'm fine, Rothen and I'm also late for class. Do you mind if we talk some other time?" She replied, avoiding his eyes. She couldn't bear to see the disappointment on his face whenever she dismissed him. Rothen nodded and the smile fell off his face. He bent down and looked her in the eyes.

"Sonea." He whispered. "You do not look well enough to even walk, let alone attend a lesson. Are you sure you want to go to lesson?"

Sonea couldn't help but stare into his concerned eyes and shook her head, the tears of frustration returning into the back of her eyes. She waited for a moment as Rothen still searched her, and then nodded her head.

"I think I will give today a miss. Thank you Rothen." She added with a small smile. Rothen nodded, his eyes glowing with happiness.

"Get well soon, Sonea. Seeing my favourite novice is not something I like seeing." He said cheerfully, turning away. He lifted a hand up to say goodbye and Sonea smiled back at him, gripping her box closer to her chest. She head out of the University and walked towards the edge of the field. She remembered a place a certain someone once showed her and she knew that that place would be the best place for her to go. She smiled and set off for the Guild Spring.

* * *

She scrambled up the last few rocks and let out a sigh when she finally reached the top. She and Cery had travelled to the Spring many times before when they wanted some time alone, away from the slum dwellers. They had loved going there everyday, but after a near capture from a magician who also loved to sit there, they had fled and never returned. Now, she could go there without the risk of being captured. She gazed around at the birds singing happily in the trees and paused to stroke a joli that hopped past, and then looked up at the entrance to the Spring. And froze.

Akkarin was sat on the floor beside the Spring, running his hands through the water. He paused, looked up at her and smiled.

"Hello Sonea."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

Sonea felt the same emotions she used to feel when she stared at Akkarin, but it was soon replaced with anger. She narrowed her eyes at him and turned away to walk off. All she had wanted to do was get away from everything. Like she had done in the field. She pushed the thought away. She couldn't think of the incident in the field. Not now.

"Sonea, come here." Akkarin's voice called out from behind her. She screwed her eyes shut and clenched her fists. She still had to obey Akkarin's orders, whether she hated him or not. She turned around and walked towards him, avoiding eye contact. He patted the grass beside him and she stared at the spot, hesitating for a moment. Then she sat down beside him, edging away from him.

Akkarin stared at her with a pang of guilt. He wanted to rebuild his trust with her, but he didn't know how.

"What do you want?" She grumbled all respect for him transformed into hatred. He winced at the tone in her voice and stared at her.

"I wanted to talk about what happene-"He began.

"It's okay. I've already forgotten about it. I understand that your position and secret is much more important then a measly novice. I allowed myself to think you were actually in love with me and it was a mistake. It won't happen again." Sonea blurted out, surprising herself at the confidence in her voice. She began to get up. Akkarin looked down and cursed quietly.

"Sonea..." He said sternly. Sonea turned to him angrily.

"I suggest you speak nothing of it High Lord. I'm willing to risk my life just to let everyone know about your dirty secret at this moment in time. I was stupid to have allowed a friendship to spark and now that friendship is over I will remain NOTHING but your stupid, weak novice." She shouted, choking on her words. Emotions began to fill up in her body, but she pushed them down, allowing more anger to fill up inside her. Akkarin stood at her perplexed. Then frowned.

"If you are to be my novice, I expect the same respect you would give to the High Lord."

Sonea laughed and spat. She wasn't holding anything back this time.

"You don't deserve respect." She said through gritted teeth. The memories of his innocent flirting popped up in her head and she felt herself get angrier. He had fooled around with her. She wasn't going to take it anymore.

Akkarin sat in silence for a moment. There was nothing he could do now. She was furious. He felt stupid, like a novice being told off by a magician. Except it was the other way around. It was his own fault and he had nothing he could snap back with.

Sonea frowned at him one final time and head off towards the University. She felt surprisingly better then she had that morning, after letting out all of her anger.

She smiled as she opened the door to her lesson and ignored the novices who had turned to stare at her.

"I'm sorry I'm late Lord Jolen. I had a late night last night and slept in." She said, bowing. Jolen nodded and waved a hand to her seat. He didn't dare tell her off. She nodded glumly and sat down in her seat, aware that the novices were still staring at her. Jolen began to teach again and the all the novices turned back to him. Except for one. Regin continued to stare at her, his eyes narrowed in anger. She pretended to ignore him, but couldn't help sending across the occasional glare. She tended to push out their encounter to the back of her head, but she still had the occasional anger wave over her when she thought how close he had got to her.

* * *

She went back to her usual routine of avoiding the High Lords residence, but found that wherever she went, memories of times when her and Akkarin had been close rose to the top of her head. She eventually gave in and made her way back to the Residence. There was the slightest chance that Akkarin would be in the Night room that evening, so she may even have the Residence to herself.

She raised her hand to the door handle, expecting it to swing open like usual, but it didn't. She frowned and opened the door normally. Akkarin wasn't sitting at his desk and Takan was nowhere to be seen. She shrugged and began to walk upstairs into her room. She yelped as a force pushed her away from the staircase and pushed her to the floor.

"Hello little Sonea. How nice to see you again."

Sonea lifted her head up an inch and glared at the speaker. Folt had found her alone. She was filled with horror at the sight of him at first, then a struck of fear crossed her.

"What have you done with Akkarin?" She spat. Folt laughed.

"We have not touched your dear Akkarin. He seems to have left his Residence for a change. What a mistake that was."

Sonea struggled against the force and broke free. Folt may not be as strong as he thought he was. She leapt towards the door, but it slammed shut. Folt was grinning at her and she resisted the urge to scream.

"Why do you want me? I'm only Akkarin's novice" She screamed at him. Folt raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, but you're not just a novice to Akkarin are you? Jaime made that quite clear."

Sonea stiffened and glared at the Ichani.

"Jaime? What has he told you?" She whispered. Folt raised his eyebrows.

"I'm not blind Sonea. It was obvious he was the one that set you free that night. Reading his mind wasn't a problem, he didn't even bother to resist. He probably knew that he was going to die eventually anyway."

Sonea sat up in shock.

"You didn't..." She growled. Folt laughed.

"I wouldn't get rid of such a worthy source of energy. No, he's now my prisoner. And you'll be mine soon." He growled in return, his grin spreading across his face as he sent a stun strike at her. She raised her shield, but it instantly shattered. 

_One blast,_ she thought. It took one blast to shatter it completely. _I haven't got a chance_.

Folt smiled grimly and stepped forward, sending one last stun strike at Sonea. It was a direct hit and before she knew it, her legs had crumpled beneath her and she fell into darkness.

* * *

Akkarin flinched, as did the many magicians around him. The flicker of energy was small, but it was enough to attract all of their attention.

"What was that?" Lorlen whispered to Akkarin, whom he had been having a reasonable conversation with a moment before. Akkarin frowned into his wine, ignoring Lorlen. The magicians surrounding them began to murmur in dulcet tones, questioning each other. Had a novice tried to do a spell? No, they would not have been able to detect the use of magic from a novice. They looked around to stare at Akkarin, hoping his reaction could explain the situation.

"I have to go." Akkarin said, suddenly, handing Lorlen his wine. Lorlen looked at him and opened his mouth to ask why, but Akkarin's black robes fluttered through the doorway before he could spit out a syllable. Akkarin had hardly attended the Night Room before now, but he seemed to be attending a lot more then usual lately. The abrupt leave certainly disturbed Lorlen, but he shook his head and pondered off to have a conversation with Rothen, taking a sip of Akkarin's wine as he went.

* * *

Sonea awoke and groaned. Her head was pounding against her skull and her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she glanced around the dark room, wondering where she was. She cursed as she remembered Folt blacking her out. She looked around the room and saw a figure in the corner. She approached him and her eyes began to fill with relieved tears.

"Takan!" She exclaimed, pulling him into a hug. She wasn't very close to him, but at least she was with someone familiar. Takan blushed slightly and pulled away.

"They took me down here with you. I tried to fend them off..." He began, looking down. Sonea gave him a sympathetic look.

"There was nothing you could do Takan." She gazed around the dark room and frowned. It was a lot more uncomfortable and unwelcoming then the room Akkarin and her had stayed in once before. She shook her head. _Don't think about Akkarin now,_ she thought.

"We need to find a way out of here." She whispered. Takan shook his head.

"There's no way out. I've looked."

Sonea cursed and walked over to the door, gazing through the bars in the small square intended to be a window. 2 guards were placed outside the door and they were walking up and down, occasionally glancing into the cell opposite.

"Sonea?! Is that you?" A voice whispered from beside her. She looked to her right and saw a small gap in the wall which was obviously blocking them off from another cell.

"Jaime?" She whispered in question, tipping her head and making her way closer to the gap. Jaime grinned at her painfully through the gap. She gasped when she saw his face.

"They've been hitting you!" She exclaimed quietly, glancing at hm through the narrow gap. Jaime put his head down.

"It's ok, I'm fine." He murmured. Sonea cursed loud, ignoring the glares from the guards outside.

"I got you into this mess, I'm so sorry Jaime." She whispered, kneeling down. Jaime shook his head.

"I won't let you take all the blame. It's Akkarin's fault too." He said, jokingly. Sonea let out a chuckle and smiled at him.

"I'm serious Sonea; it was my decision to help you, not yours. You could hardly refuse my help because of the position you was in anyway."

Sonea opened her mouth to reply, but a call interrupted her.

"Brother?" Takan said, edging towards the gap. Sonea heard Jaime gasp from the other side.

"Takan! How are you?" He asked. Takan laughed.

"I've been better. I haven't seen you in a long time. What are you doing down here? How have you been?" Takan asked, leaning against the wall. He had his back to the gap, but Jaime was still audible.

Jaime took a deep sigh and he glanced over at Sonea.

"It's going to take a while to explain."

Takan laughed.

"Well, we aren't going anywhere."

* * *

Akkarin burst into his residence and cursed as loud as he could. The underground door was open and by the looks of it, a ruckus had occurred in his very lounge. He ran towards the doorway to the underground passage and ran down it, not bothering to take anything with him and only one thing on his mind. Saving Sonea.

* * *

**A/N: I still haven't figured how to upload more then 15 chapters, so you might not get the next chapter for a while. D; Oh, and I realised I've made Lorlen a bit...how can I say it...Duuuuuuuuuh -drools stupidly- in this chapter. I have to say, it suits him. Haha.**

**Sorry for it to be all confusing and SO sorry it's taken me so long to update, but I've been major busy with my other story I'm planning to upload onto fictionpress.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. :) Please r&r**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Drip. Wince. Drip. Wince. Drip...

Sonea woke up from her peaceful sleep and winced as another drip of water fell onto her nose. She wiped it off and sat up, wide awake. She stared out of the small hole in the wall that they called a window and realised it was still dark. She sighed and leant against the wall with her elbows rested on her knees, which were brought up to her stomach.

She looked at Takan, who had fallen asleep beside the hole which led to Jaime's cell and smiled. They had been talking all evening and she was glad the two brothers were finally able to catch up with each other, even if it was because they were almost sharing a cell.

A crash came from the outside of the cell and Sonea sat up. She heard it again and moved towards the door, being careful not to wake Takan or Jaime. She tiptoed and stared down the corridor as best as she could and saw the walls slowly cave in.

She glanced at two figures that had shields around them, probably to protect them from the falling rubble but she found she couldn't recognize them from the distance she was. She pushed her nose closer to the bars. Her eyes widened when she discovered that one of the magicians was a guard and that he had hurled a ball of energy towards the wall and missed his target. Now it was heading straight for her cell.

She gripped Takan by the arm and pulled him away from the wall, throwing a shield in front of her as she did so. He stared at her in confusion for a moment, and then lifted his hand up to protect himself from the disintegrated wall. It seems the only way to destroy the wall was for the person who had put some of their energy into it, to use their own magic for it to take damage.

Sonea cast an eye into Jaime's direction and found him standing on his own two feet, holding a shield of his own. She smiled at him and focused her energy so the shield was surrounding her and Takan. She pulled him to his feet and they squinted their eyes through the dust that had risen, to glance at the mysterious fighter who had seemed to have come to their aid.

When the dust cleared and a limp figure was lying on the floor, Sonea's stomach jumped, hoping it was the guard. It was.

Above the guards, now dead, body was a man in a black robe. Sonea pushed her hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear, before her mouth fell open. The man smiled slightly at her.

"Akkarin..." Sonea began. He walked forward and pulled her into a hug. Sonea wrapped her arms around him, pulling him as close as she could. She couldn't believe he was down here.

"Akkarin, you should have stayed at the Guild. You aren't nearly strong enough to defeat all of the guards, let alone Folt." She began to say, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes. Akkarin smiled and tucked a piece of her loose hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear, gazing into both of her eyes as she did so. Jaime and Takan exchanged looks across the room, but Akkarin failed to notice.

"I was acting on instinct. It seemed to have worked because you're here with me now no?" Akkarin said cheekily. Sonea smiled at him, pulling him into a hug again. Akkarin bent his head slightly and whispered into her ear.

"I wouldn't have left you here to die."

He pulled away, slightly more serious then he was before, and then gripped her hand. He nodded at Takan and Jaime, who were at his side immediately.

"Jaime, you'll have to protect Takan, he's the only one here that can't use magic. The way I came is blocked and I only encountered two guards on the way." He said his tone serious. He frowned as he thought.

"Surely they would have put a lot more guards if they knew I would come down to save Sonea." He murmured. He shook his head.

"It doesn't matter now, I have you three and that's all that matters. We'll need to go back the long way." He looked over at Jaime, whose face was in pretty bad shape.

"I'm afraid I can't heal you yet my friend. I need all the energy I have." He said sympathetically. Jaime waved a hand.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine."

Sonea couldn't take her eyes off of Akkarin. It seemed the argument they had earlier that day was forgotten. Her stomach twisted again at the sight of him and her head felt dizzy with their contact from earlier. She shook her head. She couldn't feel like this while they were in the situation they were in. It would be too difficult.

It wasn't until they had travelled a few feet, did Sonea, Takan and Jaime slow down. Almost all of their energy had been taken earlier that day and they hadn't had nearly long enough to recover. Sonea knew, however, that Folt had taken more of hers then she had the others.

Sonea's knees bent on their own accord and she winced as they hit the hard, cobbled path beneath her. Akkarin walked over to her and gripped both of her arms.

"Not long now Sonea, please hold on." He murmured. Sonea nodded and got to her feet again. But the exhaustion was too much and she fell back down. She felt a pair of arms lift her up and smelt the familiar fragrance of Akkarin.

"Hold on to me." He said. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hung her head over his shoulder. She would have loved it, had they not been running through a passageway that could hold any sort of danger around the corner. But she snuggled into Akkarins neck all the same.

Akkarin pulled Sonea tighter when he felt her snuggle into his neck. _Oh, if she knew what he wanted to do at that moment..._

He frowned when they turned another corner. There were no guards around, none at all. Not even a measly Thief was around to ask where they were going. Akkarin caught a glimpse of a familiar leaver and pulled, making a door swing open. They looked out at the University grounds, which were beginning to become clearer as the morning sun rose. Akkarin flinched and nodded to Jaime and Takan, who had began to make their way around the woods. They stayed in the shadows until they reached the Residence, clambering in through the window on the ground floor. Jaime and Takan said not a word to each other, but ran up the stairs to rest. They were too exhausted for words.

Akkarin walked upstairs, but instead of taking Sonea to her room, he took her into his.

He lifted her down onto his bed and gazed at her sleeping body. She looked dirty, hurt, torn, wasted yet she still managed to look beautiful. He knelt down beside her and slowly began to caress her hair, brushing it out of her face. She stirred and opened her eyes slowly. Akkarin's lips curled at the edges and she rubbed her eyes.

"Are we...back?" She asked. Akkarin nodded, still stroking her hair. She shivered and shut her eyes again. She felt Akkarin move closer and his lips brushed against her cheek.

"I was so scared that I might have lost you." He whispered, placing a hand on her waist. She opened her eyes again and Akkarin stared back. He leant forward and placed a tender kiss on her soft lips. She sighed slightly and lifted her hand up to pull his head closer to hers. She sat up, not removing her lips from his and wrapped both of her arms tightly around his neck. He placed both of his hands on her hips and moved forward, pushing her backwards onto the bed slightly. His hands moved slowly down her waist, both of their movements were slow, neither of them in a rush to do anything and just enjoying the fact that they didn't seem to care anymore.

Akkarin moved his lips from hers and moved more towards her, removing his robes as he did so. The ragged clothing underneath was so thin that Sonea could feel his quick heartbeat against her own when he lay on top of her. He tilted his head and placed gentle kisses along her neck and then down towards her collarbone, moving her collar away slightly as he did so. She breathed in, her stomach not just twisted, but coiled around itself. It felt so good for him to finally kiss her without the thought that they could get taken from the Guild. Neither of them seemed to care anymore. Akkarin moved his lips back up to hers and kissed her more passionately, his hands gripping her tighter as he did so. Akkarin broke apart and then laid beside her. He wasn't going to get ahead of himself, no matter how much he wanted her. They both laid there, their hearts beating fast, even though they had done nothing but kiss. Akkarin turned to face her and lifted his hand up to her cheek, caressing it slightly. Sonea turned to face him and smiled.

"Why now?" She said. Akkarin smiled slightly.

"When I found out you were gone, I thought about all the possible things he could have done to you. But the first thing I thought about was our talk earlier that day. I would never have forgiven myself if you had died with that impression of me. When you looked at me with disgust or hatred, it tore me apart. Every single time. I felt I had to act the way I did, so that if I was to die it would be a lot less harder for you. But I realised I was foolish. I would have died, without knowing what it was like to hold you truly close without either of us worrying about the consequences." He whispered, moving closer to her again.

"But there are still consequences." Sonea said. Akkarin sat up slightly and was quiet, obviously in thought.

"Sonea, you realised there was no guards around on the escape, correct?" He said. Sonea nodded.

"It was planned. I was supposed to save you. I got a mental communication from Lorlen when I was carrying you. It was to all magicians. Lord Osen was found dead." Akkarin became more serious. Sonea was lost for words.

"He...he killed him?" She stuttered. Akkarin nodded.

"It seemed Osen knew a lot more then he should have. Folt knew that Osen was researching ancient magic with all the possible sources he could and killed him. It must have been worth losing you to get Osen killed. Which means Osen knew some valuable information." Akkarin explained. Sonea nodded.

"Tomorrow, I will be researching as much as I can to find out what Osen knows. But I want to let you know, that either way we do this, there will still be a fight. A fight that neither Folt nor I could disguise. The Guild will find out about Folt eventually, but for the moment we have to just admire what we have." Akkarin said, his tone wavering slightly. He took a deep breath and Sonea placed a hand behind his neck and leant towards him.

"Sounds good to me."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

The next few days were quiet, which made Akkarin suspicious. Sonea attended her lessons as normal and by the looks of it Folt was planning something. They hadn't even attempted to send in other spies. It was very difficult, having to walk around the Guild during the day in case he bumped into Sonea. He had already bumped into her twice and they had done nothing but give each other glances. He silently cursed to himself every time he turned away. He couldn't help but let his stomach twist at the sight of her and no doubt the more he stared at her, the more other magicians will catch on. He had noticed that Rothen was being very observant lately and him being the way he was, obviously still angry for taking Sonea's guardianship, any ounce of information he could get his hands on would cause him to pounce.

Akkarin sighed and rubbed his temples as he walked down the corridor. He wasn't really in the mood to talk to Lorlen, but his friend always gets worried if he didn't visit him much. He went to turn the corner, but stopped when a novice bumped into him. He realised she was crying and bent down to look at her face. She looked familiar...

"Sonea?" He asked. She looked up at him and began to turn away.

"Sonea, what's wrong?" He asked with urgency. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"I..." She began, but then she started crying again. Akkarin forgot about trying to be professional in case anyone saw them and pulled her into a hug. He held her tightly and stroked her hair, brushing it out of her damp face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He whispered into her ear. Sonea gripped him tighter. She wanted nothing more then to go back to the Residence and lie in Akkarin's arms and forget about what had happened.

Akkarin lifted his hand and moved her face upwards so it was facing his. She still looked beautiful with tears falling down her face.

"Come on, we'll go back to the Residence." He whispered. She nodded and gazed down at his inviting lips. He noticed she was looking and bent down to kiss hers. He lifted both of his hands up so her face was cupped in his and pushed his lips harder against hers. She felt a groan travel up the back of her throat, but she pushed it away. She broke from the kiss and clutched him to her again. It felt so good to be in his arms.

"Come on." He said, gripping her hand in his. She wiped away another tear and frowned. She was going to have to tell him what had happened whether or not she wanted to now.

* * *

Rothen didn't know what to think. He was dumbstruck. He couldn't believe his own eyes. He blinked again and rubbed them, staring at the spot Akkarin and Sonea was moments before.

_She...He...they...but... h_e thought. His mind was in scrambles. Her and Akkarin were TOGETHER?! But she hated his guts! She was only with him because she was his hostage. Rothen sat down on the bench and put his head in his hands. The bell rang for the next lesson and he ignored the glances he was receiving from the novices and magicians walking past. How could she do this to him? Had he only got half of the story? Was he missing something?

He got up and went over to the Magicians Quarters. It was going to take some serious therapy to get this around his head.

* * *

"And that's it." Sonea mumbled, her eyes beginning to fill with tears again. Akkarin was silent.

He had no idea that the things Regin was doing to her was that serious. He'd gotten too close to her, touched her, kissed her. He wasn't angry. He was furious. He didn't just want this boy out of the Guild, he wanted him dead. Sonea stared at Akkarin and realised the blank expression on his face. But when she looked down at his clenched fists, she guessed he wasn't pleased.

"How long has this been going on?" His voice echoed in a monotone. Sonea swallowed.

"This was the second time. Last time he wasn't as close..." A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away, her hand trembling violently. Akkarin rose from his seat and bent down in front of her, grasping both of her hands in his.

"I'll deal with it. You should have told me earlier Sonea." He whispered. Sonea sniffed and shook her head.

"It wasn't important. We have Folt to worry about. The Guild having another war is a lot more important then a small problem with a bully."

Akkarin frowned at her.

"This isn't a small problem Sonea. You have no idea how disgraced his House name is if he has done all these things to you. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do. Having your mind read will certainly reveal more then I want revealed. I don't care if we get caught doing black magic, I just don't want to be split up from you."

Sonea's heart thumped for his concern. She had never seen this side of Akkarin before. She was quite certain that she liked it though.

She leant forward and kissed him, raising out of her chair as she did so. She felt Akkarin's surprise, but soon he was kissing back with the same passion. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer, his heart beating faster and faster. He couldn't keep his hands off of her for long enough, during the day all he could think about was holding her again.

Then, the door swung open. Akkarin and Sonea jumped away from each other and stared at the door. Stood in it was a flustered and worried Lorlen.

"Akkarin... Guild... magicians... black... " Lorlen puffed, catching his breath. Then he stopped.

"Was you two just..." He pointed a finger at Akkarin, then to Sonea.

"Not now, Lorlen. What is it?" Akkarin asked, moving forward. Lorlen shook his head and began to ramble again.

"Lorlen, STOP. Talk slowly." Akkarin ordered.

"At the front of the Guild... 3 powerful magicians... don't know where they're from... saying something about black magic... they're killing everything..." Lorlen breathed out eventually. Akkarin didn't even looked surprised, he just turned and grabbed Sonea's wrist and ran out of the Residence.

"So much for Folt making a plan." Akkarin murmured as he ran towards the University grounds. He could hear the explosions and screams from where they were and knew he didn't have long. Folt was going to kill everything in his path until he got him.

Akkarin knew Folt would have no mercy this time. He had captured Akkarin once and had made the mistake of keeping him for energy. Now he knew that Folt wanted him dead. But he wasn't willing to give up that easily.

They turned the corner and everyone had surrounded the grounds. They were no longer running from Folt, but were staring at him. He was standing in the centre of the circle, staring at all of their faces. The crowd slowly parted as Akkarin made his way through, watching Folt and Akkarin, confused.

Akkarin let go of Sonea's hand and whispered for her to stay where she was until he said. She opened her mouth to protest but he turned before she could say anything.

"Ah, Akkarin. Nice of you to join us. I hope you like the redecorating I did on the University." He chuckled to himself. Akkarin glanced over at the University and saw it had cracked in several places and the columns had collapsed every here and there. There was bound to be magicians in there still and he hoped they had used their shields. Folt had obviously taken the energy that was keeping the columns up.

"Where is dear, little Sonea? I was looking forward to seeing her again. I wanted to ask how her stay was." Folt grinned grimly. Akkarin winced. Everyone around them was beginning to whisper, but Akkarin stayed in his normal posture. He tried his best to keep a neutral expression and knew it was working.

Akkarin glanced around at the faces and locked eyes with Regin. He was staring at him with a neutral expression on his face, until Akkarin narrowed his eyes at him. Then a look of fear rose on his face and Akkarin let out a satisfied smile.

He glanced over at Rothen and his stomach dropped. Rothen was staring at him, not hiding any of his hatred. But he looked like he hated him more then he had before. Akkarin shook his head and looked back at Folt.

"What do you want Folt?" Akkarin finally said in a casual tone. The whispers continued. Folt smiled at him.

"You are in no position to turn me away now Akkarin. I want you dead. You can die and go to hell were my best friend is waiting. He wants to avenge his death." Folt growled, no longer happy. The whispering was getting louder and was a lot more agitating.

"Does that mean Akkarin killed him?"

"How does he know Akkarin?"

"How does he know Sonea?"

"Is he going to kill Akkarin?"

"Is Akkarin strong enough to beat him?"

So many questions were being whispered, but no one was paying attention to Sonea. She was standing awkwardly behind the crowd, no one having noticed her.

_Should I do something? _She thought. She couldn't do anything to help Akkarin and he was the only one who could harm Folt. Not kill him.

She was looking around at the crowd, when something hit her mind. It was like a mindstrike, but three times at bad. She collapsed to the floor, her head screaming. Everyone turned and finally realised she was there. She went to get to her feet, but fell to the floor again as an image of Folt doing black magic hit her head. She screamed and clutched her head. She felt a pair of strong hands shake her.

"Sonea?" Akkarin said. She looked up at him, but screamed when another flash hit her. Images of a knife running along someone's wrists and fingers being pressed against it flashed up in front of her eyes. It took her a while to realise, but she was being forcefully taught black magic. How had Folt managed to connect with her?

"Stop it!" Akkarin screamed at Folt. Folt just laughed and sent another image into her head. She clutched her head, screaming even more. Everyone around them had stopped whispering and had now turned to watch what was happening.

Akkarin sent a stunstrike at Folt, but he shielded it with ease and sent a blast back. Akkarin shielded it, but the shield shattered after it touched. Akkarin winced and rose his shield back up.

Sonea screamed again and clutched her head as she watched another servant's energy get drained and an excruciating pain ran through her head as she tried to block the image out.

"I SAID STOP IT." Akkarin shouted, throwing several strong strikes at Folt. Folt frowned as they slightly cracked his shield and pushed him backwards. Akkarin was breathing heavily and everyone was staring at him in shock. Akkarin had never lost his cool like that before.

Folt flicked his hand up and threw an invisible bind at Sonea. She groaned as it lifted her off of the floor. Akkarin jumped forward, but the 5 men that surrounded Folt pushed his back with an airstrike. They were half of Folt's strength, but they were still strong enough to knock Akkarin off of his feet. Folt dropped Sonea to the floor in front of his feet and turned her around, drawing his knife as he did so. He sent another image at her, making her scream and gave a satisfied smile. He clutched a bunch of her hair and pulled her head back, revealing her neck. He pressed the sharp blade against her neck and Sonea struggled, tears of frustration brimming into her eyes.

"How about it Akkarin? Your precious Guild or your lover?"

The whispers began again and Akkarin stood off of the floor. _This can't be happening_, he thought.

"Oh, come on Akkarin. She knows black magic now. I made a connection with her the day I took her into the dungeon. I've been watching your every move. I can teach her things you couldn't imagine, give her horrid memories I've received from others. I can make her life hell. Or I could kill her now, unless you step forward and allow me to take all of these lovely, powerful magicians energy around me. I may even let you live if you co-operate accordingly." Folt spat, grinning. Akkarin stared at Sonea, who struggled again and wouldn't take her eyes off of him. Folt pressed the knife tighter to her throat and she screwed her eyes shut in pain as blood trickled down her throat. Akkarin clenched his fists, tears brimming at the back of his eyes.

_I don't want to lose her, but I'd be letting down everyone else, _he thought. He looked around at all the faces, who were staring at him. He looked down at the floor.

"Let go of her." He said through gritted teeth, looking back up at Folt. Folt laughed.

"I can't do that Akkarin. It doesn't matter anyway. She already knows what choice you're going to make."

Akkarin looked down at Sonea, who was staring at him sympathetically.

_Let him do it,_ she sent.

All the magicians around them jumped slightly at the sound of the mental communication.

_I won't let him _Akkarin sent back. Sonea stared at him and struggled slightly again.

_Akkarin, the Guild is a lot more important then me. If he keeps to his word and leaves after he's killed me, the Guild gets away safely and you have the chance to gather an army and kill him, _she sent back

Akkarin shook his head.

_Sonea, he will not leave after he has killed you. He has came here today to kill me and me only. If I let him kill you, it would have been a pointless death. I won't let him do it._

Folt grinned and pressed the knife harder to Sonea's throat. She felt her energy drain incredibly. The knife was obviously enchanted. She gasped and screwed her eyes shut again.

_Do it Akkarin! Tell him to kill me!_

Akkarin hesitated and gritted his teeth together.

_No_

Folt pushed the knife against her skin even more and Sonea felt her head go dizzy. She shook herself. She knew if she was to lose consciousness now, she won't wake up again.

_AKKARIN. DO IT. _She screamed mentally. Akkarin winced.

_I can't Sonea! Don't you understand? He's already killed one person I loved, I won't let him do it again. He's taken too much from me and I know he'll keep on taking until I kill him. So I'll do it. If I fail, I know you'll be ready to fight for me._

A tear rolled down Sonea's cheek and she shook her head as nausea and dizziness clouded her vision again

_Akkarin... _she sent, before shutting her eyes, letting the pain take over and sending her down into the depths of darkness.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

_

* * *

You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in_

Akkarin felt a hand grip his shoulder and he shook it off. Sonea was lying on the floor, her eyes staring at him, lifeless. She was gone. The hand replaced itself on his shoulder and he went to shake it off once again, but stopped when the grip tightened.

"Akkarin." A voice said from behind him. He turned to see Jaime staring at him blankly. Akkarin looked down. His stomach bubbled with fury and anger and he wished to lunge out at him, hurt everyone, or just die.

He opened his eyes wide in surprise when he felt energy surge through him. He snapped his eyes back up to Jaime, who was concentrating, his forehead burrowed.

"Stop, you're giving me too much." He went to pull away, but Jaime gripped tighter and smiled at him.

"Akkarin, I'm useless. I have all this energy and I'm not near skilled enough to use it to defeat Folt. You need it more then I do."

Akkarin shook his head. "Jaime, you've just found Takan again, I couldn't."

Jaime winced and Akkarin felt his hand loosen slightly. But then he gripped harder then before.

"Takan has survived without me for all these years; it won't do him any harm. He will understand." Jaime's words had begun to slur and Akkarin frowned at him. He had all this energy inside him now, swirling freely around his body. He felt like flying, but he could not help but feel uncomfortable with another magician's energy inside him. Jaime smiled as his eyes began to lose colour.

"Go get him Akkarin. Look after Sonea."

His hand slipped off of Akkarin's shoulder and though Akkarin had expected it, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise when Jaime fell to the floor. He bent down to his side and closed Jaime's grey eyes with two of his fingers.

"You're truly a brother of Takan." The corners of Akkarin's mouth twitched upwards and he rose, feeling refreshed and just about ready to kill, hurt, devour, obliterate Folt. Akkarin's eyes flew back down to Sonea and he ran forward to her side. Folt took a step backwards, grinning. Akkarin resisted the urge to laugh. Folt had clearly not seen the scene with Jaime and had no idea what was coming for him.

Akkarin knelt down beside Sonea, who was breathing, her neck wound bleeding uncontrollably. The knife Folt had cut it with contained a stone which made the wound unable to be healed by magicians. Akkarin cursed and brushed a strand of Sonea's hair from her face.

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

"Don't leave me, Sonea." He whispered, his eyes blurring with tears. He shook his head. He never cried, he won't ever cry. Not for anyone. He gripped Sonea's hand and stroked it slightly. He couldn't see her anymore, the tears in his eyes refusing to drain away.

_I don't cry. I'm the High Lord. I won't EVER cry._

He almost jumped back when Sonea squeezed his hand in return. He couldn't help but let the tears drop. She was still alive! He frowned quickly. She was suffering. Bleeding to death.

"Do you need a tissue?"

Akkarin snapped his head up to stare at Folt, who was cackling with laughter.

_So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side I will fight and defend  
I'll fight and defend_

Folt didn't expect it. Akkarin was in front of him in mere seconds, his hand clutched tightly to his throat as he gagged for oxygen. The energy within his body seeped slowly from the grip, rendering his magic useless. Akkarin's eyes burned with a fire never seen before and the people surrounding them murmured. Akkarin squeezed Folt's neck tighter and tighter. There was no need for petty magical energy; he had it all under control. A blast knocked him off guard and he dropped Folt, who fell to the floor, coughing and breathing heavily, both hands massaging his throat. Akkarin faced the two men who were standing beside Folt. Akkarin frowned. He remembered being visited by men this strong in his Residence and he had struggled to kill them. He smiled to himself grimly and held out both arms, as if crucified, facing the two magicians. They raised their eyebrows to each other as if to say: ▒He thinks he can kill us?'

They raised their shields and stood, waiting for the explosion. It never came. Folt's eyes widened as his men dissolved into nothing but dust.

"You...you're a monster." He choked on his words, spitting at Akkarin. The fire in Akkarin's eyes had begun to burn furiously again and a luminous, blue glow reflected off of his body. The energy he had received from Jaime had almost taken control of his entire body. He had no mercy.

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

He took a step towards Folt, who then backed away. Akkarin frowned and smiled at him, stepping forward again.

"I'll heal her Akkarin; I'll leave you and your Guild alone. Just let me go." Folt screamed for mercy, but no. Akkarin cast an eye back into Sonea's direction and he felt his stomach grow bigger, burn more furiously, bubble with anger.

"No...mercy." He growled, raising his hand to face Folt. Folt squealed in anger and rose his arms up to his face, along with his shield. Akkarin's blast penetrated the shield and struck Folt in the upper left of his chest. Akkarin jumped forward and gripped Folt's collar, pulling his face up close to his.

"You pulled my heart apart. I think it's only fair I return the favour." Akkarin growled, placing his hand to the wound and withdrawing all of Folt's energy. Folt smiled grimly.

"You may have killed me Akkarin, but there is no way you and your filthy slum girl will be accepted now you both have knowledge of black magic. You're doomed." He let out one last chuckle, before his head lopped sideways. Akkarin dropped, or rather threw, him to the floor, Folt's piercing blue eyes now solemn and grey, all life vanquished from his cruel body.

_Hear me when I say, when I say I believe  
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny  
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly_

Akkarin collapsed to the floor, despite the fact he had the energy of two, very strong black magicians inside of him. He crawled over to Sonea, the energy pulling at his insides, groaning to be let loose. He felt a pang of sympathy for Sonea. So this is what it's like to lose control... He thought to himself. He reached Sonea and placed a hand to her wrist to feel a pulse. There was nothing. He gritted his teeth and brushed hair out of her eyes.

You can't leave me Sonea. Don't leave me like she did before...

_Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

We can make it Sonea, you and me. We'll leave the Guild; go live someplace else away from everyone. Just us two. You can't die Sonea. We have a future.

_Keep holding on  
Keep holding on_

_There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through_

Akkarin placed his hand on her wound, even though he knew there was no chance it could be healed. He used the wound to penetrate her barrier, to explore her mind. Anything, a spark, a cough, anything I can rely on...Akkarin thought, venturing deeper and deeper. He didn't know how long he was searching, but when he felt two hands grip his shoulders to pull him away, he stayed.

"She's gone, Akkarin." Lorlen's voice rang, somewhere in the real world. Akkarin shook his head and gritted his teeth. He heard Lorlen sigh.

"Come on, Akkarin." He said again. Akkarin shook his head and plunged deeper, deeper, deeper into Sonea's body.

There has to be something. She can't die, she just can't.

Images of Sonea popped up in front of his vision. When she feared him to when she gazed at him lovingly. He didn't just feel for her. He loved her. They were as one.

Akkarin straightened up as a cough of life sparked his mind. He lunged for it, giving everything he had to her. He heard her fast paced breaths and smiled to himself, giving her more and more of his spare energy. He pulled away and opened his eyes. Her eyes were shut, but she was just unconscious. He let out a laugh of happiness, and then a rush of weariness crossed over him. He'd given her a little more then he meant to. He ignored the cheers of people around him and collapsed to his side, falling into a deep, deep sleep.

* * *

**Okay, I've sorted out the chapters as best as I can. It took me over 2 hours, because I needed to split them up, copy and paste them into seperate word documents and then I had to get rid of these stupid symbols that had popped up. You may see some random symbol, but just susbstitute it for something you think should go there.**

**Hopefully you can review now, I'd be grateful for any of them. :) **

**Disclaimer: Avril Lavigne - Keep Holding On. Awesome song, you have to listen to it. :)  
**


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

* * *

Voices awoke Sonea from her deep sleep. She shifted slightly and heard the voices stop abruptly. Then they began again, but in a more hushed tone, meaning Sonea had to listen more carefully.

"... they have broken the law of the King, we must do something about it!"

"Let's not be harsh, Balkan. They saved the Guild and possibly even Imardin, do you really intend to kill our heroes?"

"But it was Akkarin's fault that we were put in danger in the first place!"

Sonea's eyes opened at the mention of Akkarins name and she struggled to sit up.

"Sonea." Sonea noticed Lorlen's voice and felt hands push on her shoulders.

"Akkarin." She whispered, clutching her thumping head.

"He's fine, Sonea. Lay back down." Lorlen ordered softly. Sonea shook her head and pushed the soft blanket she was wrapped in off of her legs and swung out of the wards bed. She had loads of energy inside her, strange, considering the circumstances. She sent some healing energy to chase away her weariness and turned to Lorlen, who was watching her carefully. Balkan was staring at her in distaste and Lady Vinara was holding a rather expressionless face. She turned to Lorlen.

"I wish to see Akkarin. If you are worried that I will run off and try to murder all of the Guild singlehandedly, then you can escort me." Sonea said to Lorlen coldly, flickering her eyes into Balkans direction. At least he had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"Of course." Lorlen whispered hoarsely, before clearing his throat and placing a light hand on Sonea's shoulder. She nodded up and him and began to walk out of the room. Lorlen turned to give Balkan a warning look, before following her.

"Sonea?"

Sonea gasped and ran forward towards Akkarin, who was sitting up in his own ward bed. He enveloped her in a tight, warm hug and placed his lips on the top of her head. Sonea shuffled herself onto his bed and wrapped his arms around his neck, pulling his closer.

One of the Healers raised her eyebrows at Lorlen and Lorlen replied with a slight upturn in the corner of his mouth. He nodded towards the door and the Healer bowed politely, walking out of it. Lorlen cast Akkarin and Sonea a glance and smiled to himself, before following the Healer, closing the door on the way out.

Sonea pulled away and placed a hand at the base of Akkarins neck. He moved a hand under her gown and began to draw small circles on her back.

"I can't believe we're alive. We made it through." She smiled slightly and her eyes began to well up. Akkarin smiled weakly back and shook his head slightly.

"The fight was not the worst of it. We'll now have to deal with the law and rules of the Guild." He raised a hand to the side of her head and rubbed his thumb along her cheek, staring into each of her eyes in turn.

"Folt forcefully taught you black magic so that you would be exiled if he was unsuccessful in his attempt to kill us. I am sure the Guild may twist the rules, although I am uncertain. I learnt black magic for my own foolish protection. There is more of a chance you can stay here, safe, while I am exiled."

The smile fell from Sonea's face.

"No. They can't. You helped them defend the Guild, why would they send you away?" Her eyes began to well up with tears. Akkarin smiled at her grimly.

"Their argument that is was my fault in the first place will be a lot more welcoming then the real reason."

Sonea frowned in confusion. Akkarin chuckled.

"Folt was planning to invade the Guild, even before I killed his best friend. The war between Imardin and the Sachakans was never forgotten and they did vow to come back one day and destroy it. It just so happens that Folt was foolish enough to try and dispose of me with only two of his strongest men. It will be years before another force as strong as his becomes a threat."

Sonea soaked in this information. She grasped his hand and gazed into his eyes.

"We'll tell them. Tell them everything you told me. They can't exile you, not after you saved them from a future invasion."

Akkarin stared at her. He could tell them everything, but it will mean telling them about the personal secret that he kept from even Sonea. A truth read would be all it took for his name to be cleared.

Sonea knew he was making a decision and happily waited. After a few minutes he leant forwards and kissed her tenderly on the lips, then pulled away and whispered into her ear:

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care what the consequences are."

"Lorlen, we do not mean to be biased here, but you are Akkarin's best friend as well as the Administrator. It is clear that you would say we would allow Akkarin to remain in the Guild." Balkan explained, Lady Vinara at his side.

Lorlen nodded, his two index fingers pressed to his lips and his hands clasped together. He removed them and smiled at them both.

"True enough, but you have not yet thought to yourself... Akkarin may have a valid reason for his actions. It could be an excuse, yes, but there would be no way he could make it up if we can perform the truth read if necessary. There would really be no need to exile Akkarin if he has a good enough reason." Lorlen explained, tipping himself some wine. Balkan frowned and let out a deep sigh, rubbing his forehead with the tips of his fingers.

"Alright." He said impatiently, flicking his hand in the air and then dropping it to his side in defeat. Lorlen gave him a sly nod and Balkan bowed before leaving the room, Lady Vinara at his side.

A week had passed and the Healers had given Sonea and Akkarin the confirmation they needed to leave the Healers Quarters.

They made their way back to the Residence, escorted by Balkan and Lorlen. Sonea glanced around at the novices she passed as Akkarin talked animatedly with Lorlen. She almost laughed. The look of disgust they had usually given her had turned more sympathetic, even slightly in awe of her. She shook her head and caught Akkarin smiling at her as they finally reached the Residence.

Lorlen's expression turned serious.

"The Hearing will be tomorrow morning. You two had better prepare yourself for the worst. It has been decades since the King has decided to attend a Hearing that he considered important. "

Akkarin nodded and Sonea swallowed, bowing to him politely before he turned his back and walked out. Akkarin turned and smiled at Sonea.

"No matter what happens, we'll be together." He lifted his long, slender hand up and stuck out his little finger, clenching his other fingers together. Sonea giggled at his childishness and lifted her little finger up, entwining it with his. He pulled her closer into a hug and she whispered into his ear:

"I love you."

"Fellow magicians, this Hearing is hereby in progress." Lorlen shouted, his voice magnified with a slight touch of magic. The magicians took their seats and a few murmurs were whispered amongst the novices as the King entered and sat in the tallest chair.

Sonea swallowed again and felt Akkarin grip her hand tightly. They were standing in the doorway, awaiting Lorlen's orders to walk in.

They watched Lorlen talk to the court surrounding him and Sonea struggled to observe the expression on the magicians' faces. They didn't seem angry or disgusted in any way. A small rush of hope surged through her.

She jumped when Akkarin pushed her forwards; not realising that the Guards had began to walk. She swallowed, attempting to dampen her dry throat and slowly dragged her feet after her.

She resisted the urge to laugh as a single cheer rang out from the audience. She couldn't help but snort a little when she realised that it was Dannyl.

A few other magicians let out cheers of encouragement until Lorlen announced them to be silent. She took her place just in front of the King, Akkarin at her side.

The Hearing seemed to rush past. Akkarin had described everything which he had explained to her in his room all that time ago. But as Akkarin started to explain a little more in depth, Sonea understood why he had hesitated from the truth read back in the ward.

"Shenko didn't just capture me and hold me hostage. While I was in Sachaka, I met this beautiful woman." His eyes seemed to harden.

"Raiya was a Kyralian herself and had been captured when she was just a child by Shenko. She was raised up by him and each day he would take her energy. She had grown to be quite a beautiful young woman, despite her living conditions." Akkarin grimaced.

"I didn't even get near her. We would have conversations through our bars during the night, but we were too far away to even touch. As soon as Shenko found out about our conversations, he decided to do what he knew would hurt me most." Akkarin paused and looked down to stare at his hands.

"He sent Folt to kill her and forced me to watch as he..." His breath got caught in his throat and he stared up at all the magicians faces. They were all very tense and listening in, even the King seemed to be intrigued.

"They told me they were going to invade Imardin and they were going to make me fight with them. Make it seem as though I had turned against them. But I got out and killed Shenko before he had the chance to attack." He explained, regaining his composure.

Lorlen coughed and turned to the rest of the magicians.

"I will now perform a truth read on both Akkarin and Sonea to confirm that what they had done was not out of pure greed for power, but for the love of the Guild. To defend themselves and to defend Imardin."

A few magicians murmured with agreement loudly and Lorlen began the truth reads.

It was overwhelming. Akkarin had not been so at ease since when he was nothing but a novice. It was gone. Everything was over and done with.

Him and Sonea where free to do as they wished, Sonea could continue her lessons, Sonea could be _his_.

They both stood outside of the Hall where the Hearing was held and smiled up at each other. Magicians nodded their heads politely as they passed and their eyes gleamed up at the both of them.

"I can see why you were willing to sacrifice yourself for the Guild now." Sonea murmured to him. Akkarin nodded.

"To let all these people die and for me to live would leave me with such a heavy burden that I would not have wanted to live very long anyway."

Sonea smiled up at him and he leant down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. A small cough interrupted them. They broke apart and Sonea stared at the magician.

"Rothen!" She shouted, throwing herself into his arms. He hugged her tightly to his chest.

"I can't believe you've been through all of that. And to think I wasn't there to protect you." He whispered into her hair. He glared up at Akkarin and Sonea laughed.

"Rothen, sometimes I think you forget that I should be nothing but a novice. No matter how much I wish to be your daughter, I'm afraid I'm not."

Rothen grinned at her. "A little imagination can't hurt."

Sonea rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to you later."

Rothen nodded and looked up at Dannyl who had appeared beside him. Dannyl winked at Sonea and walked off with him.

Turning back to Akkarin, Sonea felt happier then she ever had before in her life. Akkarin beamed down at her and sweeped her into his arms, holding her tightly over his shoulder.

"I won't ever lose you."

And she knew he meant it.

_You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in_

_

* * *

_**A/N: Well, there's the end of it. Boy, it was a tough ride, but writing this has got me into part-time writing as a hobby now! :D**

**Thank you to all my reviewers: **

**wizardfantasy for sticking with me to the end**

**Moons-Chan for giving me critizcism when I need it. :P**

**Moon Mysteri for reviewing me AND being on the best forums in the world. :D**

**alilonghorn for reviewing me when I needed it most.**

**Thanks again. :D**

**I'll probably write another fanfic eventually, so keep an eye out. ;]  
**


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